


I guess I'm better as a ghost

by miss__moth



Category: Watch Dogs (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Double Life, Drug Use, F/F, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mutual Pining, Out of Character, Past Abuse, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Will update tags, but there will be - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:35:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23432506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss__moth/pseuds/miss__moth
Summary: Wrench has been running secret information gathering ops against Prime_Eight, and everything was going well until Lenni locks Dedsec out of their server and Marcus goes to investigate.Fixed formatting.
Relationships: Marcus Holloway & Wrench, Marcus Holloway/Wrench, Sitara Dhawan/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 43
Kudos: 88





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first fanfic I have written in quite a while and my first ever multi-chapter fic, this quarantine has me actually sticking with this lmao.  
> It's very out of character and absolutely wouldn't happen in the actual plot of the game, but like ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm stuck at home with nothing to do so why not.  
> Also, this will get pretty dark at times, but I'll put a warning at the start of any chapters with triggering themes.  
> I've already finished the first 3 chapters so expect the other 2 up soon, hoping for weekly updates, monthly at the most.  
> Since this is the first thing I've written ages any feedback would be welcome! And if anyone wants to chat about the sweet hacker children I'm always down :D

Marcus had barely gotten out of the Nudle campus when it started, the stupid little cats roaming around on his phone screen. He let out a frustrated groan as he tried and failed to call the rest of the gang, little piles of turds littering his OS. He could tell just by the aesthetics of the sprites that it had to be Prime_Eight, who else dealt in such an obnoxious 2008 colour palette. After trying at least 6 more times he finally got onto the crew, and his hunch was right. After a quick conversation with Josh, he hacked the door of a nearby car and took off in the direction of the hackerspace.   
It didn't take him too long to reach Gary's Games and Glory. Before he joined Dedsec he spent hours in the store with absolutely no knowledge of what was right under his feet if he had of known he'd of probably spent more time there. Maybe there was a chance he could have joined sooner. He had to push his way through the store, knocking his way between larger than usual crowds. A new limited Warhammer set was dropping that day and everyone was crammed in the small space to try and get their hands on it. Finally getting through the walls of B.O and no personal space, he entered the door code and slowly stomped down the stairs, dreading what he would find at the bottom. 

  
As he made it to the bottom he heard it, one of the most infuriating voices he'd ever heard. He sped towards the wall of screens and there she was in all of her shitty glory."Of course, fucking Lenni."  
"Citizens of the world" she started, but Marcus tried to drown her out. Everyone was rushing around the small space trying to shut her up somehow, tapping away at keyboards and fucking around with the servers. 

  
"Please tell me its just Kiki?" Marcus yelled over the noise, fear gripping at his chest. The noise, the flashing screens, and the entire situation had him on the brink of a panic attack. The last thing anyone needed was him on the floor in a ball hyperventilating. 

  
"It's just Kiki." a voice shouted over the madness. Sitara rushed in from behind the centre wall, taking charge as usual. "We're housecleaning the felines, Josh is brute-forcing the crypto key." Behind her Marcus spotted Josh, rocking back and forth in a chair, head in his hands. Knowing Josh as well as he did, this whole situation must be eating him alive.

  
Before Marcus could reply, a scream could be heard. "ARGH, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" followed by the sound of things smashing, and then, quiet. A sigh of relief came out of the man's mouth as he watched his best friend round the corner, dragging his trusty sledgehammer behind him. It was comforting to see Wrench at the hackerspace, seeing as he wasn't around as much as the other hackers. No one seemed to have any idea where Wrench went when he was gone for hours at a time, but they'd taken to placing bets. Ray is convinced he's a sex worker and he leaves to meet client, Sitara put down $50 that he secretly volunteers at the Cat Cuddle Cafe a few blocks away, and Josh refuses to participate. Marcus believes that he's running off to just get away from everything, this life can be stressful. 

"Alright, so, are we going to war for this?" The masked man inquired, angry carats displaying over his eyes.

"Absolutely," Sitara replied, "We're not letting these Trolls drag us into their sewer. Dedsec doesn't back dow-"

  
"SO WHAT!?" Josh interrupted. It was a rare sight-seeing this side of Josh, frustrated and angry. "What good is going to war with them?" Marcus can hear what Josh is saying but has stopped processing it. Of course, they had to go to war over this, what else could they do? Just sit back and let themselves be played by someone as vile as Lenni? He only snapped back when Josh yelled out again, hitting his hand against his armrest. 

  
Marcus knew his place in the group well enough, especially after the incident with the fake bots and Swelter Skelter. He knew how to rally the team and get their spirits back, it was something he'd been good at his entire life. He just knew how to bring the spark back to people and damn he considered it his secret superpower, one he's had to use since childhood. 

  
He managed to get the whole crew into action, all with a job they needed to finish and fast. And he knew what he needed to do, find Lenni and have some words with her. She liked to spend her free time at one of the queer bars in Castro but considering the time of day he knew she wouldn't be there. So he had to wait. Throwing himself down on the couch he pulled out his phone and started his plans, not noticing Wrench drag Josh away from his desk and into the supply closet.

********

It was cramped, dark, and crawling with spiders, but they've both managed to fit in there before, many times before now. They had the routine down to an art. Wrench would enter first, push everything down his end of the closet and josh would come in second. Neither of them enjoyed being in such a confined space, let alone with another person, but it was the only way that the two could talk privately. 

  
After a moment Wrench was the first to speak up, "So, I've just texted Cameron and Ivan to see if I can get a shift tonight, and if I can't I'll just head down there myself and pretend to be social." The nervousness in his voice wasn't well hidden by the modulator in his mask, but he knew without it he'd sound so much worse.

  
"Yes, that would work. You better make up a believable excuse for you to be there if you don't get a response." Just as josh finished his sentence a loud, obnoxious message tone blared over the tiny closet, startling both men. They both knew the sound well, Wrench knowing to reach for the second phone in his vest. Their eyes had to adjust as the light of the phone screen temporarily blinded them before being able to see the text conversation on screen.

  
_** >Jamie 3:21 pm:** Yo Ivan the Horrible, im needin xtra $$$ ASAP, wanna swap shifts? i take yours tonight and you get mine for monday night. i dont hve any shifts this week, T.T_  
 _**> Ivan 3:26 pm:** Thank fuck little man, i was about to ask if you could cover tonight. Kane is in town so i need the time if ya know what i mean ;) my shift statrs at 5, tell daddy Cam youre covering <3_

  
"You don't have much time, go get ready, and report to me when she gets there." and with that, Josh leaves the closet and Wrench giggles as he leaves himself.

"Out of the closet and straight to the gay bar." 

********

The operation was solid, there was a job opening at the bar they knew Lenni frequented and they saw an opportunity. Get someone in the club to spy and hopefully get close to Lenni, and get some good intel. Josh had brought up the idea to him while it was just the two of them in the hackerspace and he can clearly remember discussing the options. If they got someone in Dedsec Lenni could easily identify them, but if they got someone outside of the group then how could they trust them. After brainstorming for what felt like hours, it was josh who came up with the idea. No one knew what he looked like without his trademark mask, so he could do the job undetected, but also, they both knew that Wrench would never turn and betray Dedsec. It took a lot of convincing but by the end of the night, they had a fake resume and every legal document needed for a Mr James Bellamy, including his own ctOS profile. After a bit of magic on their end 'Jamie' got the job, and it's been their little secret since. 

  
And fuck did it work. Lenni instantly gravitated towards Jamie, chatting with him whenever she could and divulging some helpful tidbits about what Prime_Eight are up to. He even got invited to one of their parties, she handed the address of the bunker straight to Dedsec and didn't know a thing. While the op has been a success so far, that didn't mean Wrench enjoyed it. 

  
He stood in the tiny apartment he rented in Jamie's name, staring into the dirty mirror. He hated looking at his face, his body, but he couldn't exactly look away as he applied his foundation over his burn scar and tattoos. He'd become a pro at this over the months of playing the Jamie character, but that doesn't mean it stung any less. The mark on his face had held so much power over him, so many bad memories. Maybe he thought covering it up would make the pain go away, but it didn't. Finishing his work with the liquid foundation he moved onto the powder, just to make sure nothing moved. When he was satisfied he slid an old pair of glasses onto his face, having to blink a few times to get used to the lenses. While wearing his mask he can see perfectly, he made it with the highest quality cameras he could, but without it his eyesight was useless. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and moved onto his tattoos, only the ones that will be visible with his work clothes. He'd done most of them himself, all stick and pokes. None of them had a deeper meaning past being part of the Wrench character he created, the character he wanted to be forever. The more he thought of it the worse he felt. He wasn't even a real person anymore, just this character that he played day in day out. The only time he was ever truly himself was when he was alone in this shithole of an apartment, angry, drunk, and usually suicidal. He knew deep down that what he has now is better than his old life, back when he was R- Fuck. He slammed his hands against the sink, angry at almost acknowledging his past. As far as he was concerned his past self died when The Wrench was born. He glanced at his phone, the screen reading 4:17 pm. He had to finish up and get out asap. Pushing down all the anger inside of him, he rushed getting into his uniform, a t-shirt with the bars logo, a long black shirt underneath, with plain black pants and comfy shoes.

  
Wrench stopped in front of his mirror one last time, pulling a black saggy beanie over his dirty blonde hair and slipped his old nose ring in as a finishing touch. Stepping back he inspected his reflection.

  
He looked just like his brother. 

  
He turned on his heel, grabbing 'Jamie's' backpack and leaving the dark apartment behind. He had a job to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter is here! Its been quite a while since I've attempted writing anything so any feedback would be appreciated!

He got to the bar 15 minutes early, knowing it would make his boss happy. Not that he gave a shit about his boss, or at least he claimed. He just needed to keep this job. It was such a juicy way to keep tabs on not only Prime_Eight and Lenni but people in general. The number of familiar faces that come through here and spill their guts to the cute twink of a bartender was kinda crazy. He stood outside the door and looked up at the neon sign above him. Lucky Pierre's. Named after the owner's husband. He let out a deep sigh and leaned against the doorframe. Every time he had to play Jamie it took him a while to get into the character, and today was no different. Thankful of his years as a theatre kid in high school, he finally pushed open the door and was instantly greeted by the older man cleaning the tables.

  
"Jamie, my boy!" His face was round, covered in salt and pepper stubble. He dragged himself from the job at hand to slap Wrench on the back. He was strong and often forgot how much so, and thus accidentally sent Wrench stumbling forward with the force of his blow.

  
"Hey Cameron..." He choked out in a voice too soft-spoken for Wrench but just perfect for Jamie. "I took over Ivan's shift for tonight, I hope that's alright..." Wrench knew it was fine, but half of Jamie's charm was how quiet he was, the complete opposite of Wrench. It reminded him of his old personality, the one that died years ago.

  
"Of course it's alright! You're cute, you bring in business!" His laugh was so loud it seemed to shake the entire room, his long silver hair falling off his shoulders as his body shook. Wrench smiled and went to place his backpack in the break room. Cameron had been surprisingly nice to him when he started here, which he was not expecting at all. He was just like a weird, supportive gay dad.

  
After cleaning down the bar, setting the tables, and getting the music ready, the bar officially opened. And guess who was first through the door. As Lenni entered she locked eyes with Wrench and smiled. Fuck he just wanted to punch her, not that he even could when he was Jamie. He just smiled back and forced back any impulses to throw a glass at her. He sent a message to Josh, letting him know that Lenni had arrived, then made his way over to her usual haunt at the back of the bar.

  
"H-Hey Lenni, long time no see!" He felt wrong for just acting nice to her, he fucking hated this woman, and here he was, making small talk. It's for the greater good, he tells himself. 

  
"Hey Sweet Cheeks," Lenni greeted him with her charming way with words, "You've been gone a while."

  
"Y-yeah, been sick."

  
"Well, you better not get me fucking sick." If he was someone other than himself he'd be hurt, but he's used to Lenni at this point. She was awful, a genuine asshole. Since becoming 'friends' with her she's cussed him out, threatened, and even tried to hit him on more than one occasion. If this wasn't for a greater cause he'd have her out on her ass before she knew what was happening.   
With the venue starting to fill, he went back to his station by the end of the bar, Cameron manning the taps closer to the door. The music was blaring loud enough that he could barely think, but he had a job to do. She just sat and drank for around an hour and was on her 5th beer when Georgia showed up. She was another Prime_Eight member, alright hacker, nothing to write home about. Lenni only kept her around for her tattoo skills and judging by the case she had in her hand that was the reason she was here tonight. Walking yet another drink to Lenni's table he was greeted by Georgia's smile. She was too nice for Prime_Eight, but this was the side she chose. Placing the bottle down on the table he was thanked with a firm slap to his ass from Lenni. Gritting his teeth, he grinned and took it, ignoring her comment about how flat his ass was. 

  
"You should really let Georgia give you some art James, maybe you'd look less like a twink," He knew where this was going to go, "And maybe then you'd find a man to give you the time of day."  
He rolled his eyes and moved back to the bar. It felt weird that due to the circumstances, he was already out to Lenni but not to his closest friends. It's not even like he officially came out to her, he just happens to work at a gay bar and she assumed he must be, and she isn't wrong. He was out in his last life as his first identity, but not now. He even pretends that Wrench is straight just to distance himself more from his old life. He started to wipe down the bar, listening very intently to Lenni and Georgia, interest peaking when he heard a name.

  
"So I met that contact and can you believe? It's fucking Dusan fucking Nemec." Wrench grabbed another beer from the fridge and walked it to the table that Prime_Eight had claimed as their own. As he handed the beer to her, Lenni pulled him into the conversation, just as he'd hoped.

  
"So, Twinkie, what's your opinion on Dusan? He seems like your type."

  
"You know me Lenni, I like daddy types," God he hated himself for this, "And Dusan is a daddy." He wanted to fucking throw up.

  
She laughed at that, almost knocking over the tattoo ink Georgia had just finished setting up. "Well, Daddy Dusan just gave me a few hundred thousand to smear those pussies in Dedsec." 

  
Of course, it had to be him, who else would it be at this point. He's been on their ass since for months. Kinda pathetic that he decided to go through Prime_Eight to hurt them, he could of at least chosen someone more intimidating than Lenni and her crew. He knew that to get more info out of her he had to play along, and this hurt him even more than calling Dusan a daddy.

  
"That's fucking hilarious Lenni!" He lied, "So what are you going to do to them?" He already knew one of the things, but it would be good to know what else.

  
"I locked them out of their goddamn servers is what I did!" She gloated, with that shit-eating grin of her that he hates. Fuck he hates her.

  
"Its what they deserve, virtue signalling assholes." Wrench always felt bad when he had to do this. He loves Dedsec and everyone in it, they're his family and badmouthing them made him feel like a dick. He was about to ask for more information when he was cut off by Cameron asking him to take the trash out. After taking out the trash Lenni's tattoo session had started, and of all places its a face tat. She couldn't even talk while it was happening. He was having no luck today.

  
He kept an eye on the two women as the night went on, determined to get something good to report back to Josh when the tattoo was finally finished. Georgia held up a small black light up to her clients face and it lit up in a skull design. If it wasn't Lenni Wrench might even say it was cool. Maybe. He wandered over from the bar to continue trying to get information when he noticed someone approaching the three. Glancing over he instantly recognised the man, and his eyes went wide.

********

As Marcus strolled through the bar he quickly found his target, she always stood out like a sore thumb. There Lenni sat, getting tattooed by another Prime_Eight member, RnyDae. He knew both of them from running ops against the rival crew, but it was the third he didn't recognise. A guy, slightly hunched over but obviously taller than himself, with dirty blonde hair, wonky glasses that look like they've survived more than their fair share of knocks, and striking blue eyes that stared at him like a deer caught in headlights. He had never seen this guy before but for some reason, he seemed oddly familiar. His attention turned back to Lenni as she spoke. 

  
"So, how many lap dogs you got scrambling behind the scenes to crack my uncrackable lock?"

  
He hated how smug yet uninterested she seemed. "Credit where credit's due," and he did have to give her credit, it was a good lock, "Now, you want me to ask nicely? 'Cause you could just give me the key and I'll be on my way." He knew she would never just give him the key, but he was a smartass at heart and needed to fuck with her a bit. As she replied with yet another snarky response his attention was drawn back to the man on his left, who was still staring. The poor guy looked like he was on the brink of a panic attack. The man started to move away when Lenni grabbed him by the arm, startling the three around her. 

  
"Jamie where are you pissing off to? Fuck man, help me fuck over this Dedsuck fucker." The guy, Jamie, was shaking more than ever and looked to be on the brink of tears. It was obvious the poor man wasn't a part of Prime_Eight and judging my his t-shirt was just an employee here at the bar. Figures that Lenni knows all the staff with how often she's camped out in here. Fuck her for dragging civvies into gang matters. She then continued the conversation with one arm gripping onto the man, the other being worked on by RnyDae. He wasn't paying too much attention when suddenly Lenni jumped, obviously hurt by the work being done on her arm. She let go of Jamie's arm to reach over and slap RnyDae across her face. Marcus felt his blood boil, who does she think she is? Jamie took his chance and scurried back behind the bar, almost hiding from them, and RnyDae finished her work on Lenni's arm. Marcus half-heartedly listened as Lenni stood up and spat out her demands. A Dedsec video where they discredit themselves, like fuck that was going to ever happen. 

  
"But if you don't do it, then I'll start naming names." Now that got Marcus's attention. "That's right! Names, identities!" She continued as his blood ran cold, "A veritable who's who, bitch." Fuck, a leak like that could put real lives in danger, both Dedsec members and their families.

  
"Damn, looks like you're not leaving us much choice."

  
"Go ahead. Get gud."

  
Goddamn, she was annoying, he didn't know how anyone could stand to be around her for more than 5 minutes at a time. She finally wrapped up her spiel and moved to leave, not before giving Marcus a firm slap to his ass. He was going to get her for that. Looking down at RnyDae he noticed the red mark already showing across her cheek, tears welling in her eyes.

  
"Hey, you alright?" She might be considered "The Enemy" but she didn't deserve the abuse at all, and he just couldn't let her deal with it alone.

  
She seemed startled by his question, jumping slightly. "Oh, hey retr0, yeah I'm fine." She stood up after packing the last of her things, "been through worse."

  
"You know, you don't deserve that."

  
She just shook her head and made her way out, waving at Jamie behind the bar as she left. Marcus let out a sigh. Fuck this was bad, but it could be a lot worse. He turned and walked towards the bar, he was already here so why not have a drink.

********

This was bad, what the fuck was Marcus doing here? He wasn't listening when they were planning their attack on P_8 so Marcus must have mentioned it then. He was too focused on getting information from Lenni himself he completely missed his friends' plans. When he saw Marcus enter the bar his heart dropped, and when he tried to escape but Lenni had held onto him he thought he was going to shit himself. He was almost sobbing when he finally broke free from Lenni's grip and ran back to the bar. He turned his back on Lenni and Marcus and felt a tear run down his cheek. Fuck he had to get this under control but he just couldn't. This was the first time his best friend had seen his face and the man didn't even know it. Wrench always thought that when he finally showed Marcus his face it would be on his own terms, and in private where it was just the two of them. Not like this. He held himself as more tears found their way onto his cheeks until a firm hand clamped down onto his shoulders.

  
"Jamie, you okay bud?" It was Cameron, who used his other hand to guide Wrench's face up towards his own. He had a look of pity and concern on his face that Wrench fucking despised, but being in the grips of a panic attack he couldn't do anything about it. He just looked up at his elder and wiped his face, careful not to smudge the makeup over his eye.

  
"Just a bit overwhelmed, I'm ok now." What else was he going to say? 'Oh, I've been working here to spy on a patron and my best friend who doesn't even know what I look like just walked in and fucked everything up. Also, my names not Jamie and I've been lying to you for months.' Cameron just nodded knowingly and offered him a break but he turned it down. He needed to be here if Lenni said anything to him after Marcus leaves. He kept himself busy cleaning glasses, thankful that it wasn't a busy night when he glanced up and noticed Lenni leaving. She threw him a quick smile on her way out, shortly followed by Georgia. He gave the latter a quick wave as she left and turned his attention back to the bar. Now that they've left that means Marcus has no reason to stick around and he felt a weight lift off his shoulders, only to have it crashing back down onto him hard.

  
"Hey, sorry about Lenni." his head shot up and his eyes met that of Marcus. It was the first time he's really looked into the other man's eyes without his trusty mask and its camera displays. Fuck the camera didn't do them justice, they were dark and deep with little hints of gold. 

  
"Uh." he stuttered, would Marcus recognise his voice? Of course, he speaks completely differently as Jamie and not with the robotic twist Marcus is used to, but it was a fear nonetheless. "It's all good, you get used to her quick enough."

  
"Man, I don't think I could ever get used to Lenni!" He flashed that smile that Wrench loves so much, genuine and full of kindness. Fuck he had to shove that down, he knew he had strong feelings for his friend but he could never acknowledge them. He didn't deserve that sort of love and kindness, his past attempts at relationships taught him that. Besides, Marcus is straight anyway. He responded to his friends comment with a smile and asked if he wanted something from the bar. A beer, fuck. that means he's going to be here for a while. He pulled a bottle of Marcus's favourite out of the fridge and opened it, handing it towards his friend, who looked at it for a second before taking a sip.

  
"You must be psychic, I didn't even mention what beer I wanted yet you managed to give me my favourite one." He smiled again and Wrench almost slapped himself.

  
"I, um, I should have asked but I guess I'm on autopilot." 

  
He laughed at that and Wrench felt his face turning pink. Marcus stretched out his hand for him to shake.

  
"I'm Marcus, I'm sort of a nemesis to Lenni." It was surreal, he already knew Marcus, this felt wrong. "Nice to meet you, I promise I'm not as bad as Lenni makes out."

  
Shaking his best friends hand, he introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Jamie." Fuck he was going to pass out. He tried to look at the positives, at least this means his disguise must be good if even his best friend couldn't recognise him. 

  
As their small talk continued Wrench felt himself relaxing, Marcus could always calm him down and before long he had finished his 4th beer, their conversation going strong. It started with little info tidbits about themselves then progressed into a debate over the Star Wars prequels. After the other hacker said something particularly funny and the 2 of them burst into laughter but were rudely interrupted by ringing from Marcus's phone, but it was a ringtone Wrench didn't recognise. Odd, but he knows how it is, he might have separate ringtones for personal and Dedsec stuff. Wrench himself has 2 phones for the very same reason. He zoned out for a moment, thinking about how weird this whole situation was when he heard it.

  
Marcus's head was slightly turned away for privacy but he could be clearly "Yeah.. yeah... yep... alright send me a list, I'm heading home now I'll stop at the grocery store, yep... Love you too, see you soon."

  
Wrench's heart sunk, of fucking course, Marcus had a fucking girlfriend. They all keep their private and Dedsec lives separate but he could of at least mentioned her before he had gone and caught feelings. It made sense though, Marcus was amazing. He could brighten a room just by walking in and his smile could make flowers bloom. It was only natural that he would already have a partner.   
"Hey sorry man, I gotta go." Marcus looked almost disappointed he had to leave but Wrench wouldn't believe it. "I really liked chatting with you, can i grab your number or something?" 

  
He agreed and they swapped numbers even though he already had his friends contact memorised. While they did consider themselves to be best friends he realised how little he actually knew about the hacker. Yeah, they liked the same cheesy movies, comic books, and video games, but could they call themselves best friends if they knew so little? Marcus didn't even know Wrench's real name or what he looks like, which was only slightly untrue now. He knows this face but doesn't know it belongs to him, or how scarred and disgusting it was. Thank fuck for cheap foundation and youtube tutorials.  
After entering their info into each other's phones Wrench had a quick glance at the contact. He had put a smiling emoji next to his name.

  
"Well, I better be going, need to make the shops..."

  
"Uh, yeah, see ya..." 

  
And just like that Marcus was gone and Wrench felt empty. He was a fool to think there was ever a chance between him and the other hacker. Fuck, Adam was right. His hands slammed onto the counter and he shook his head. Its been years, he's not going to let his ex hurt him anymore, but he knew deep down that what Adam said was true. He was undeserving of any kindness or love, he was just a pathetic loser with nothing to live for. Good for nothing. Without thinking he stormed away from the bar and slammed into the back room where he let it all out. He pulled the old hoodie out of his backpack and scrunched it up, perfect size to scream into and not disrupt the people outside or draw attention to himself, but that was already too late. Dropping to his knees he screamed as quietly as he could into the fabric when he heard someone enter behind him.

  
"Fuck Jamie what's happening? Are you alright?" Cameron shouted, the concern from earlier back in his voice. Wrench could only look up at him and sputter out something that sounded like jibberish, tears drenching his bright red face. He felt pathetic and small, showing emotions like this in front of people was something he would never do normally. Looking down he let out a few more choked sobs escape him before he felt himself being pulled into Cameron's arms and held. Normally he hated being touched, especially during a panic attack, but this was exactly what he needed. Letting himself be held, he melted into the older men embrace and cried, the 2 men kneeling together on the filthy floor. 

  
"Why don't you take the rest of the night off Jay, you've seemed off the entire shift." Wrench nodded and went to stand when Cameron stopped him and held onto his shoulder. "But, you promise me you'll call if you need anything, anything at all." Wrench continued nodding and collected his stuff before saying his goodbyes and leaving the bar. Today was too long and stressful, but he knows it's only going to get worse for him when he arrives home.

********

He fumbled with his keys while trying to hold 3 paper bags full of groceries in his left arm, it aching when he finally got the keys in the door and turned the lock. Pushing through the door frame and into the kitchen he saw a figure sitting at the kitchen table, slamming the bags in front of her.

  
"You could have helped you know, shits heavy." She just ignored him, all of her focus on the phone in her hands. He started to go about putting her shopping away when an older woman entered the room and embraced him.

  
"Mark! You're actually home at a reasonable hour!" She beamed at him then pulled his head towards her so she could plant a kiss on his cheek.

  
"Yeah yeah, Mama-" He smiled back at the much smaller woman when she interrupted him.

  
"Well while you were at work your father called, he wants to know if you're staying with him for the wedding or at the hotel with Aunt Miranda, also Charlotte's laptop won't turn on and she needs it for school tomorrow, also do you mind cooking tonight? I have to finish my class plans for the week and..." Marcus rolled his eyes and smiled at the woman as she rushed around the room while he continued putting things away, eventually shoving an old laptop into his arms. "Just you, your sister, and I eating tonight. Your mother is having trouble keeping food down and isn't hungry."   
"I'll make her some dry toast then.." He said to himself as he placed 2 pieces of bread in the toaster. He stopped to look at his Mama and couldn't help but smile. When it came to his family she was definitely the odd one out, with her pale skin and short blonde pixie cut, she looked nothing like him or his little sister but that was a given. She got together with his mom while he was a kid, about 2 years after his mom and dads divorce and stuck out ever since. Of course, it caused some drama in his family, with his older brother refusing to acknowledge her relationship with their mother and her own family disowning her for coming out, but when she joined their little unit it finally felt complete. She was the backbone of the family and kept them all in one piece.

  
A yawn escaped his lips as a sudden tiredness fell over him, must have been all the beers he had. He only had them as an excuse to talk to the guy at the bar to see if he could get any additional info on Prime_Eight that Lenni may have told him, but he wasn't expecting him to be so cool. Or cute.

  
Stretching his arms over his head he turned to his younger sibling. "If I gotta fix your computer then you can cook dinner."

  
"What?!?" The teens head snapped towards him, "I don't want to cook!"

  
"It's only fair Charlie, I've been at work all day."

  
She ran a hand through her long straightened hair before sighing in defeat, "Fine, I'll cook, but only because you're fixing my laptop. Promise you won't wipe it!"

  
He scoffed, retrieving the now cooked toast and the broken laptop, "It's literally my job to fix computers, I won't wipe it."

  
His family had no idea he was a part of Dedsec and he'd like to keep it that way. They all thought he worked at a computer repair place near the hackerspace, with whom the owner was a Dedsec affiliate and went along with the ruse. Opening his bedroom door he tossed the laptop onto his bed before continuing down the hall and knocking on his parents' bedroom door. He didn't wait for a response, pushing himself in and walking towards the bed.

  
"Hey Mom, I'm home." 

  
The woman on the bed opened her eyes and looked up at him, smiling.

  
"Made you some toast." He placed the plate on her nightstand before handing a piece to her.

  
It was quiet for a moment when the woman finally spoke up. "You're such a sweet boy Marcus..." This made him smile, he loved his Mom more than anything. They sat in silence for a while before he kissed her cheek and left her to rest. The past few months have been rough for his family, what with his mothers' diagnosis, but they're surviving. He's just thankful for the extra money he's gotten since working with Dedsec, cancer treatment is expensive. After silently closing his mothers' door he entered his own room and got to work on his sisters' computer, the whole time planning in his head what to do about Lenni.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO MUMS TWO MUMS TWO MUMS


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too sure about this chapter lmao, but it's done! Heads up for mentions of self-harm in this chapter, I'm sorry if that's triggering for anyone. I really hope you're all staying safe!

The sound of his alarm felt like a jet engine next to his head. He could only justify so many snoozes until he finally had to sit up and reach for his glasses. 5 am, fuck he hated waking up this early, but so many people rely on him, he can't just waste time sleeping. Pulling himself out of the warm comfort of his blankets he went about his morning duties. First on the agenda, make Charlotte's lunch for school. Easy enough, a ham sandwich and a few bits he picked up at the supermarket the night before. He added in an extra $10 note just incase then set it in its designated place in the fridge. Next, a shower. He always waits until after he made his sisters' lunch because his Mama was always in there when he first wakes. After locking the door and stripping from his pyjamas he let the hot water run down his back. It felt heavenly, the perfect thing to wake him up. He didn't leave the glorious shower until his sister slammed on the door begging him to hurry up. With his towel wrapped around his waist and his fogged glasses perched on his nose, he quickly moved back into the privacy of his bedroom. As soon as he pushed the lock on the inside of his door he let his towel fall to the floor, making his way to flop on the edge of his double bed, eyeing the posters adorning his walls and ceiling. Most intact from his teenage years, left up when he left home the first time, and still there to greet him when he moved back. He didn't exactly WANT to move back home, but his family needs him. He'd be lying if he said wasn't a little bit resentful for it, missing his personal space and freedom to bring people home without comment from his mothers, but he knew what was more important in the long run. Fuck why did mornings have to be so fucking hard? 

  
A sigh left his lips as he let himself fall backwards into the mess of blankets and pillows. So many people relied on him to be strong. His family, his friends, Dedsec. He had to be there for everyone all the time, he barely had any time to be there for himself. He could feel that feeling start bubbling in his chest, that sickly tightness that made his breathing hard and his head spin. This was going to be a bad one, he could feel it, but he didn't have the time for it. forcing himself to sit up he scooched closer to his nightstand he picked up the small pill organiser sitting upon it. Glancing at his phone to confirm that it was indeed Friday he opened the small compartment plastered with an F and emptied the contents into his palm. Antidepressants and anxiety medication. he downed the small tablets without any water and forced himself to continue his morning routine. After getting dressed and getting his bag ready he headed to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat. His mama and sister had already beaten him to the table, both sitting with bowls of cereal. He didn't have the time for breakfast with them sadly, no matter how loudly his stomach demanded it. A breakfast bar would have to suffice, grabbing his favourite (choc peanut) out of the pantry making a hot mug of tea and heading to his mothers' room. 

  
He peaked his head through the door and spoke in a hushed tone, "Hey Mom, I'm leaving for work." His mother was in her usual spot on her side of the queen-sized bed, wrapped in blankets and sitting against the headboard, book in hand. She glanced up at him as he spoke and a smile grew across her face as he entered the small room and handed her the warm cup. He's always been told he had her smile, along with her eyes. Everyone insists that he has his fathers nose though. 

  
"Thank you, honey, you're too good to me." While her lips were curled in a smile he could see the sadness behind her eyes. It ate her up inside to be stuck at home sick, she had always been the one everyone could rely on, and the main breadwinner. She hated feeling useless. 

  
After giving her one more hug he left her to read and returned to the kitchen to say goodbye when his Mama stopped him. 

  
"Mark, I have to take your mother to her hospital appointment, you need to take Charlotte to school." 

He stopped at the fridge to pull a bottle of Gatorade out and shove it in his bag. 'Sorry Mama, I'm running late for work, can't she take the bus?"

As the words left his lips Charlotte made her presence known. "I AM NOT TAKING THE FUCKING BUS MARCUS!" Well, that answers that. 

  
He rubbed his eyes under his glasses and sighed in defeat. "Fine, but we are leaving right now." He opened the front door, the 16-year-old pushing in front of him to leave first. Waving bye to his Mama, he followed Charlotte down the front stairs and up to his beat-up old car. He entered first, having to lean across the vehicle to unlock his passenger door. While yes he 'borrows' nicer cars during ops he can't exactly keep them, so he's stuck with this shitbucket when he's trying to stay low. It took a few turns of the key to get the old engine to start, finally spluttering to life before they could finally leave. 

  
They drove in silence for a few minutes before Marcus's phone rang, vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen, seeing Wrench's name. 

  
"Charlie, headphones on and volume up, I have an important work call." He didn't see her rolling her eyes at him as he hit accept and greeted his friend.

  
"Uh... hey man," Wrench replied, not quite sounding like himself, "Um, Sitara asked me to call and ask what you got from Lenni yesterday." Ah shit, he'd completely forgot about that, he had been getting so distracted lately. 

  
He glanced at his sister to make sure she wasn't listening before replying, "Yeah! Fuck, sorry for forgetting. She wants us to make a smear vid about ourselves, but fuck that."

"Well that's not gonna happen, so what's the plan?"

  
"Well P_8 work for the Sons of Ragnarok hacking ATMs, so I was thinking of going and ruining their little operation." 

  
"Fuck yes M! Make the ATMs go boom and ruin their relationship!" Marcus knew Wrench would love the plan, "Swing by the hackerspace and I'll have some explosives ready for you. Let's make their pockets hurt baby!" 

  
'Hell yeah! We are motherfuckin Dedsec!" He slapped the steering wheel for emphasis, "We ain't bending over for those fuckers! I'll be there as soon as possible." and with that, the call ended and he turned his attention back to his sister, who was staring at him with wide eyes. 

  
"Umm, didn't i tell you to put your headphones on?"

  
"MARK!" Fuck she was loud, so loud that he jumped at her word and made the car swerve, "YOU'RE IN FUCKING DEDSEC?!"

  
"CHARLOTTE SHUT THE FUCK UP, DONT BE SO LOUD!" 

  
"But, but, you're actually Dedsec?" Great, now he has to have this conversation. 

  
He let out a sigh before answering, "Yeah, I am, but," He pulled the car over on the side of the road before turning to his young companion, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You can't tell ANYONE. Not your friends, not Amanda, and especially not Mom and Mama."

  
"But why not? And I tell Amanda everything." 

  
"I know you tell Amanda everything, but this is dangerous work Char, the less people who know the better. I would never forgive myself if I let anything happen to you."

  
She looked down for a moment before meeting his gaze and smirking. "Mom and Mama would kill you if they found out, one thousand dollars and I'll keep quiet." 

Marcus frowned and raised a single eyebrow, "Two fifty."

  
"Seven fifty."

  
"Three hundred and I won't tell them about you ditching school to smoke weed behind the Quinkies."

She grinned and reached out her hand, "Deal!"

  
He grabbed her hand to seal the deal as Marcus pulled back into the road. 

********

He hung up the call and slumped back down onto his bed. Well, it was more of a bare mattress on the floor than a bed, but who cares really. Fuck why did he say he'd meet Marcus at the Hackerspace, he didn't even want to be awake today. the anxiety and stress of yesterday had taken its toll on him and after finally making it home yesterday he had a breakdown, Wrench style. The results of the episode were scattered around him, broken furniture, glass, electronics. Not even his bathroom mirror was safe. Luckily enough he didn't smash his phone so when Sitara asked him to call Marcus he could do so with no problems, other than his emotional ones. 

  
it took quite a few minutes for the anarchist to push himself off the mattress, his limbs burning in the process. He'd almost forgotten about that, looking down at the various cuts and stab wounds that littered his arms and thighs. he picked at the dry blood on his thigh, fuck if Sitara found out she would kill him. How could he be so stupid? He had been clean for years now and here he is back at square one. Only one thing to do, he thought. He dragged himself to the shower, the last thing he needed was for the injuries to get infected. Only staying long enough to clean off the dry blood and brush his teeth he strolled out to his excuse of a living space to figure out what he could wear that would best cover the evidence of his outburst.

  
He couldn't wear his favourite jeans, the tears and cuts would show off everything he needed to hide, so he went for a newish pair he hadn't worn in yet. No holes, no tears, and very uncomfortable, but they would have to do. Pulling them up and looking down at his legs he was satisfied, now onto his shirt. his everyday hoodie had cropped arms so that was a no go. It took him a while but he eventually found a long sleeve shirt that could work. It was red and black striped and looked like it came from a Hot Topic clearance bin, which to be fair it did, but it wasn't like he paid for it. He smiled at the memory, he stole the garment as a distraction to get the manager out of the store and chasing him so Horatio could get to the staff computer and get proof of the managers' wage theft. The sleeve length was perfect, ending by his fingers and not even showing his hands, and it was baggy enough that he wouldn't go into sensory overload. Happy with his outfit he pulled both his backpack and trademark vest on and went to attach his mask when he realised he didn't have a hood. Just when he thought he was done too. Luckily he remembered leaving his beanie on the kitchen counter so he snagged it as he finally left his trashed home. 

  
Coming and going as Jamie was easy enough, he just used the front entrance and acted like any other civvy, but as Wrench, he didn't have that luxury. To get out of the building he climbed out the window at the end of the corridor his apartment opened into and climbed down the fire escape. He always used this fire escape because it fed into an alleyway behind the complex and its adjoining buildings. He really lucked out on the location as it was only a five-minute walk to the Hackerspace, plus he could duck into the coffee shop he liked on the way.   
It wasn't long before he was stomping down the stairs of the Hackerspace, 4 coffees in a takeaway tray in one hand, a shopping bag with a muffin and soda in the other. As he made it to the bottom step he was almost knocked over by a rushing Horatio, who apologised before grabbing one of the cups from the anarchist and continuing on his way out.  
"Shit, he's in a rush." he said as Sitara approached him, taking her coffee from the tray.

  
"Something to do with Nudle, thanks for the coffee by the way," She lifted the cup to her lips before continuing, "What's with the get up Wrench?"

  
Attempting to show as little anxiety or guilt in his voice, he moved over to his Wrench Bench to put everything down and turn to his friend. "Washing machines broken, couldn't wear my comfies."

  
"You have a washing machine?"

  
"Nah," He shot her a ^ ~, "usually just use your moms. She says hi."

  
Rolling her eyes, she turned back to what she was doing. Wrench picked up his own coffee before grabbing the bag with the soda and muffin and walking towards josh, who was hunched over his triple screen display.

  
"Yo, breakfast," He quietly placed the bag next to josh's keyboard, "They had the apple cinnamon muffins you like, should still be warm." 

  
"Thanks, Wrench." Josh smiled at him sweetly. For all the shit they give each other, they're actually pretty close. The two could talk for hours about engineering and coding, and they collabed a lot. Plus it was nice to know and be open with another autistic person, especially because of how secretive Wrench is about his diagnosis. He wasn't ashamed of it or anything, it's just the less people knew about him the better. As he moved to return to his work bench Josh pulled at his sleeve, getting his attention. 

  
"How did it go with Lenni? You didn't report back."

  
Wrench nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh, yeah. Got a bit overwhelmed yesterday. Sorry."

"It's all alright, I understand. Did you get anything useful?"

  
"Sorta," Just thinking about yesterday was almost enough to give him a full-blown panic attack. Fucking hell it wasn't even that bad but the thought of Marcus seeing his actual face was enough to make him want to curl into a ball. "I did find out that it was Nemec who ordered it. Paid a pretty penny too. Shit went south before I could really get anymore off her."

  
As if on queue he felt a weight on his shoulder as Marcus lent on him to give him a one-armed hug, almost making him jump out of his skin and irritating the cuts along his arm.  
"Good morning guys, sorry I'm late." Marcus showed off that smile of his again and it made Wrench's stomach feel things he didn't want it to. He tried to play it off as normal as he could but he felt the panic rising in his chest. His whole body just felt wrong.

  
'Yeah, hey man. It's not like you to be late. Are you cheating on us, Marcus!?!" With his hand over his heart and his mask displaying a / \ he played off his real anxiety as an act.

  
"Pft no, just had to run errands. By the way, loving the new fit man. What's the occasion?"

  
Before he could reply he was interrupted by a yelling Sitara, "Don't ask! He'll just joke that he fucked your mom, don't give him the satisfaction." 

  
Wrench used Marcus laughing as an opportunity to run back to his bench, scrambling to find something for his friend to take on his mission. sticky bombs would probably work best and he knew he had some around here somewhere, and hopefully, he had a Xanax or two hidden here too. It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for, carefully placing them on the counter and calling the hipster over. The quicker he gave the explosives to the hacker the quicker he could hide somewhere and calm the fuck down.

  
"So Marky Mark, dug these bad boys out for you to use. Careful with them."

  
"Thanks, Funky Bunch, these are perfect!"

  
"Yeah they'll get the job done."

  
"Yeah..." The two men stood in silence for a moment before Marcus broke it. "Everything alright man? You don't seem too hot today."

  
Fuck, he had to lie quick. Something believable so he wouldn't ask questions. "I was up most of the night fighting with my washing machine, fucking thing blew up on me."

  
"Oof, that sucks," Good he bought it. "We don't even have a washing machine, we bundle all the clothes and go the laundromat once a week."

  
We? Must be his girlfriend, the one who called last night. God Wrench had a curse, always falling for straight guys. Fuck he was stupid. Just as he was going to make an excuse to leave the conversation Marcus spoke up again, yelling out to Sitara.

  
"Yo Sit, I cant hit Ragna-cock until tonight, so am I good to run some private errands today?"

  
A sigh of relief exited his lips as Sitara agreed, as long as Marcus restocked snacks while he was out. With that his friend grabbed his now lukewarm coffee off the bench and said his goodbyes to everyone, jogging up the stairs and out through the security door.

********

Leaving Gary's, he pulled his phone out and thumbed through the contacts as he walked towards his little red bucket of bolts. He found his desired contact before unlocking the door and slipping into the vehicle. His thumb hovered over the name, Rowan Carbajal, anxiety bubbling in his stomach. Since joining Dedsec he never had time for his friends, which caused a strain on his relationships with them, none as much as with Rowan. Best friends since first grade he knew that his distance was hurting her. After finding the courage to hit call, he threw the phone on the seat next to him and started the drive back to Oakland. 

  
It only took a few rings before she answered, sounding like she just woke up. "Moo Moo? Hey dude what's up?" He hated the nickname but after 15 years it's safe to say he's stuck with it.  
"Hey Roe, you busy today? Finally have a day off work."

  
"Fuck no!" By the sound that followed he just knew she had fallen out of bed, she was always a clutz. "I'm free! Wanna meet at the Usual?"   
"Yeah, be there in half an hour." 

  
"Fuck yes bro! See you then!" And she hung up without a goodbye, typical Rowan. Always rushing, usually tripping. She was a handful for sure, but she was his handful. 

  
It didn't take long for him to reach the Usual, a small cafe in Oakland owned by a lovely woman named Helen. It was Rowan and his haunt all through high school, and it was both of their first jobs. He walked through the open door and was instantly greeted by the older woman behind the counter, Helen herself. After some small talk, he placed his order, which Helen refused to let him pay for.   
"No no no Marcus! It's on the house!" She insisted, brushing her pink dyed hair behind her ears and turning to make his lunch. He smiled, glad they had an electronic tip jar, where he tipped triple the cost of his coffee and sandwich. After claiming an outside table as his own he set up his laptop and began the waiting game. Rowan made a habit of running late no matter the situation so he took the opportunity to tinker with some code. Another 30 minutes had passed when the vacant chair across the table from him was suddenly filled. 

  
"Hey Moo Moo! Sorry I'm late!" She beamed at him, gap in her front teeth on prominent display.

  
"No you're not," He smiled back at his friend. Marcus's life had been so crazy since he joined Dedsec that he didn't give himself much time for his personal life.  
She let out a bellowing laugh, "Yeah, you're right!"

  
"I love the new hair color, how bleach fucked is it?" Since she was 14 she had changed her hair color seemingly every week. This time it was a bright red, cut into a pixie style. It really complimented her deep tan skin beautifully. He also noticed a new piercing placed on the bridge of her nose, matching with her 3 nose piercings and lip ring. He could never understand how she got them done, he was with her when she got her first nose piercing and he almost passed out.

  
They chatted about everything and nothing for a few minutes before Helen brought the 2 out their coffees and food.

  
Rowan looked up at the older woman standing before them "Helen! I hadn't even ordered yet!" 

  
"No, but the second I saw Marcus come in I knew you'd be here too," Helen smiled sweetly before moving her focus to the hacker, "That's also why I waited to bring your order out."

  
"You know us too well Helen!" The hacker chided before the pink-haired lady went back inside the cafe and the friends continued their conversation.

  
They updated each other on their lives, Marcus being a bit less than truthful about his when he noticed it. Across the street, Tezca gang members doing something to the local ctOS box. Fuck, he should go and check it out, see what they're up too, but he can't risk Rowan knowing why. Slipping his phone out of his pocket he shot a quick message to the Dedsec group chat. 

  
>Retr0: Tezcas fucking with the ctOS boxes here in Oakland. Can someone come and check it out? They're up to something and I want to know.  
>Wrench >.<: man why can't u check  
>Retr0: I'm with someone who doesn't know I'm in Dedsec. Have to pretend to be a normie.  
>Ratio: Id do it but im busy rn  
>Sit: Same.   
>HawtSauce: I Cant.   
>Wrench >.<: fiiiiiiiiiiiiine im on my way. was just about 2 order pizza too :( send the coords u owe me a pizza

  
With a sigh of relief, he shared his location with the anarchist and looked back to the woman in front of him, when he noticed the look on her face. He knew that face, wide smile, squinted eyes, raised eyebrows, This wasn't going to be fun.

  
"Who was that?" Fuck she looked smug. Since his last break up, which was years ago now, she's been on his back to find someone new. Every time he gets a call, or a text, or runs into someone on the street, she gets that look on her face and it gets weird. 

  
"It was just a friend from work," Fuck why didn't he say it was his moms or something, "He just needed the current system login for the shop computer."

  
"If you say so." She took a long, slow sip from her cup, not breaking eye contact the entire time. The conversation continued with Rowan trying and failing to probe Marcus about his love life, then moving onto the topic of which character was the best to romance in Skyrim, and it was going well until Marcus noticed a certain masked figure approaching on the street.

********

The ride to Oakland was oddly peaceful. It wasn't often he got to go riding around during the day, with most of his ops running at night. Wrench was also just happy to get a chance to ride his trusty old motorbike, the thing had been sitting dormant behind his apartment for what felt like forever. The feeling of the wind blowing through his hair was amazing and grounded him, reminded him he was real. Pulling up a few blocks from the location that Marcus sent he decided to go the rest of the way on foot. The masked anarchist already made enough of an impression, he didn't need to draw attention to himself by pulling up on a loud ass Harley. The walk itself was mostly uneventful, that was until he turned the corner and there sat Marcus, chatting away with a cute girl at a cute cafe and they looked so damn happy. As the anxiety started to tighten in his chest it was joined by something else, jealousy. That was an emotion wrench hadn't felt in a while. Of course, he's felt envious of other people, such as his friends who had a normal life outside of Dedsec, but this was different. This felt worse. Deep down he wished that he was able to go out to cute coffee shops and go on cute coffee dates, specifically with Marcus. Fuck he hadn't felt this soft and gushy over anyone since Adam, there was no way he was putting himself through that again. 

  
A few metres closer and Marcus finally noticed him, and he looked somewhat anxious himself. Probably because he was with his girlfriend and didn't want her to meet him. Wrench didn't blame him, he is a fuck up after all. A freak who can't even show his real face to the world, who has to play pretend as different people to even function outside of his apartment. His best friends didn't even know the real him, he truly was pathetic. 

  
A few more steps and the girlfriend must have noticed Marcus's glances and she turned to look towards Wrench too. The first thing he noticed about the mystery girlfriend was her hair. Bright red, he used to dye his hair the same shade a few years back. next where her piercings, symmetrically scattered around her face. A bridge, septum, two nostril piercings, and a vertical labret in her lip. A cute yet somewhat basic punk girl. Who knew that was Marcus's type. Her eyes locked with his mask and she gasped, turning back towards the other hacker and loudly said "Oh my god that's The Wrench!" At least shes heard of him. Finally getting close enough to the couple he glanced down, before shooting Marcus a quick little nod, which was returned half hazardly. 

  
Realising how truly grateful he was for his mask, he made it past the couple and crossed the street making it to the ctOS box. Looks like they stuck a super basic receiver into it, probably hoping to locate people using the ctOS. it was easy to remove, he literally just had to unplug the damn thing, shoving it into his pocket and turning right around again. This time as he passed the couple he used a distract hack on the girlfriend. As she was nose deep into her phone Wrench leaned in close to Marcus.

  
"You owe me a Pizza, fucker." 

  
Walking away he heard Marcus laugh as the girlfriend asked him what was so funny.

********

Speeding away from Rhonda's Restaurant in a borrowed boat Marcus couldn't help but laugh over the sound of Lenni insulting him on the phone. Destroying the Ragnarok ATMs was surprisingly easy. a few of Wrench's sticky bombs dropped in just the right locations and BOOM! He remained unseen the entire time and no one even saw him steal their boat. It was a perfect operation in his eyes. After finally ending the call with the P_8 scumlord, he called the others back at the hackerspace to tell them how it went.

  
"The cash machines are now in pieces, thanks to yours truly." He said smugly. 

  
"Good work Marcus," Josh's soft voice responded, "Find any way to loosen their grip on Kiki?"

  
"Lenni mentioned something about servers in a bunker as she was spewing at me over the phone. If we can figure out the location I can manually take back control and shut her out for good." 

  
"I know where it is," Wrench piped in, sounding slightly off, "But I don't know how to get in."

  
"Dope man! I'll go see Lenni tomorrow and see if I can get anything out of her again."

  
"You sure, man?" Something was definitely off with Wrench's voice but he couldn't put his finger on it, "You've been doing a lot of the work so far, let me go."

  
"I can do it, but I could use the backup if you're down." Before Wrench could reply he was interrupted, "Anyway, you alright man? You sound kinda weird."

  
"Fuck you man," The Anarchist laughed, "It's 3:30 in the morning I'm about to brush my fucking teeth."

  
"...Without your mask?"

  
The line went quiet, only the slight sound of Wrench moving around his bathroom could be heard until Josh interrupted the silence. "Marcus, you don't think that Wrench wears his mask constantly, do you?"

  
more silence, this time interrupted by the sound of spitting and running water.

  
"Imagine how gross my mouth would be if I NEVER took the fucking thing off, like fuck."

  
Marcus chuckled, trying to hide his embarrassment and failing. "Yeah, it would be nasty, anyway," he hoped quickly changing the subject would spare him, "Wrench, so you're my backup tomorrow?"  
"Yes I am, but both of you fuck off I'm gonna go to bed." 

  
He gave some quick goodnights to his friends before ending the call and docking the stollen boat, only to go and steal a car. He couldn't be fucked making his way back home from his current location, it was honestly easier to spend the night at the Hackerspace with Sitara. She was there working on some pieces for an upcoming art show and he knew she'd appreciate the company. Speeding off in the direction of the Hackerspace he started planning tomorrows mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter involves my first ever attempt at writing smut, so look forward to that lmao.  
> Also, because music is a special interest of mine I'm thinking of making a Wrencus playlist on Spotify and sharing the link in the next chapter, and maybe doing song recs :) my song recommendation for all of you is either Stay High or L'amour Fait Ce Qu'il Veut by Mika, he has been my fave since I was a kid and he deserves so much more hype than he gets.  
> I'm also open to song recs if you have any! Thanks, y'all, see you next chapter!
> 
> Edit: 24th April: hey guys! Next chapter is going to be late because I’ve spent the last few days not being able to do anything. I have a disability that stops me from doing things sometimes so I know down the line that this WILL happen again so I apologise in advance :(  
> The new chapter should be up by Monday at the latest!!! I’m sorry for the wait!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I'm so sorry this took as long as it did. My disability really kicked my ass the last few weeks, spent most of it in bed lmao  
> Plus I've started uni again this week, albeit online, but it's taking a lot of my attention :(  
> I did make the playlist tho!!! I was going to make it small but I accidentally made it 10 hours long lmao  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6SMf3RJU4O0W3JnVELHTLU?si=YbcaWktXQxueWowUG1ZpnA  
> If you have any song recommendations please leave them in the comments! I love hearing new music!!!
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy!

The bar didn't open until the afternoon, so Wrench decided to take the morning off. He would have to call Marcus later to ask about Lenni, even though he already had his own plan. Tell Marcus that he's on the opposite roof as backup, go in as Jamie, and scan her arm tech while she's distracted, hopefully, while Marcus doesn't notice. For the hour he'd been awake so far he'd spent most of it thinking of what to say if his friends catch on to anything, and he finally had the story down. 

A sigh left the mans lips as he finally found the energy to push himself off his mattress. Since he was here this morning he may as well clean up the place. The small studio apartment was still somewhat in ruin after his episode the other night, rubbish and shattered glass littered his floor and the last thing he needed was getting some imbedded in his foot. It was hard getting the motivation to get up and start but he knew that if he didn't do it now he never would. Turning on his speaker and connecting his phone, his music screaming over the room, and finally started cleaning, being careful of the shards all around him.

An hour and a half had passed by the time he'd finished, throwing himself on the couch and checking his phone. 2 messages, one from Marcus and the other from Sitara. Fuck he forgot to mention he wasn't coming in today, everyone probably thought he was dead or something. opening Sitaras text it was just that, asking if he was ok. After shooting her a quick response confirming that he is in fact still alive and not dead in a playground somewhere, he moved onto Marcus's message. 

**> Retr0:** Hey my guy im gonna get to the bar hopefully around 5pm. whats the plan?

5pm, perfect. Looking at his phone the clock read 1:47pm, so he had a few hours to get prepared. 

**> Wrench >.<:** Dope, ill be on th e roof across fronm the bar. see ya ther

Ok, time to get ready. He didn't have a shift tonight so he needed a reason to be there, but since the place was a bar it wouldn't be a stretch for Jamie to be there in his free time. But that also meant he couldn't wear his work uniform, which was a pain. He could probably get away with a baggy hoodie and jeans, it's not like he had to dress up nice or anything, this wasn't a boujie establishment or anything special. By the time he had his clothes laid out and his plan sorted it was only 2:15. Damn this day was dragging on, he had about an hour and a half to kill before he had to get ready. Normally when he had time to kill he'd work or something, either code or one of his crazy inventions, but honestly couldn't be bothered right now. Same with video games. He tried checking up on his Animal Crossing New Leaf village (his secret shame) but could only focus for a few minutes before closing and throwing his 3DS down on his couch, only to pick up his old guitar and see if that could keep him preoccupied, but alas the instrument joined the 3DS on the couch next to him. Bored out of his mind he decided the only thing to do is have a nap, not that he deserved it.

Flopping down on his mattress his mind wouldn't shut up. Anxiety bubbled in his chest knowing that he would be around Marcus maskless again, somewhat willingly this time. He needed a distraction, trying to daydream wasn't helping and neither was music. A stray passed through his head and he thought fuck it! He didn't have to be anywhere for a while yet and had the time, so why not. Letting a sigh escape his chapped lips, his right hands ventured south, cupping himself through his pyjama pants. Its been a while since he's done this, been to busy with Dedsec shit. Deciding that he deserved this, he let his hand venture under his waistband, lightly gripping his hardening member. Starting to slowly move his hand, he pondered over what to fantasise about. After a few moments, he decided on his usual fantasy, being manhandled and used by an attractive guy, usually Channing Tatum or Idris Elba. The thought of a hand holding him down to the mattress, the other working his shaft made his own hand move faster, the friction starting to feel uncomfortable. Stopping momentarily to rifle through the box next to his bed in the search of lube, after finding the bottle of liquid he kicked his pants off of his long legs and tossed them across the room. Flopping back to where he was, he poured a good amount of the liquid into his palm and started rubbing his shaft again, a groan leaving his lips. He imagined the mystery man grabbing his throat, pushing him deeper into the mattress, and let go of Wrench's dick only to start working his hole. Just thinking of dark fingers fucking him while holding him down was almost enough to get him over the edge, but the fantasy continued. Mystery Man removing his fingers and replacing them with his cock, holding the anarchist by the hips and thrusting hard. Hands-on his chest, lips on his neck, teeth grazing his skin, fuck he was getting close. A few more strokes and he was there, cumming into his hand. As his orgasm shook through his body he imagined finishing at the same time as his imaginary partner, their face only inches from his. Would he be loud, howling in pleasure, or quiet, growling in Wrench's ear? It didn't matter, as long as he got to hear Marcus-

Wrench shot up from his mattress, what the fuck was wrong with him? Did he really just fantasize about his best friend? That was beyond creepy, even with his little crush. Fuck he felt dirty, and not the good kind. Anxiety flooded his thoughts again as he placed his head in his hands, forgetting about the mess in his palm. The anxiety was quickly replaced with disgust as he realised he just smeared cum over the right side of his face and decided a shower was in order. Standing up and making his way to his bathroom he ran over the plan for tonight over in his head. He couldn't fuck this up.

  
********

  
As he walked down the street towards Lenni's haunt, Marcus couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. Wrench said he'd be on backup and on the roof across from the bar but the hacker hasn't been able to reach his friend for a few hours. Lenni didn't sound too happy after he destroyed the Ragnarok ATMs and he wouldn't put it past her to have one of her little cronies try and shank him or something. Fuck he hoped Wrench came through. He was close enough to the bar now that he could clearly see his target standing outside the door with a vape in her hand. She couldn't just smoke like most people, no. She had to do be the ultimate douche-nozzle and fucking vape. The hipster never knew why vaping annoyed him as much as he did but he knew the Wrench or Sitara would have a smart ass answer why. Getting even closer he saw she was talking to someone, the cute guy who works the bar. Last time Marcus was here the poor guy looked like he was going to faint when Lenni dragged him into the conversation, fuck he hoped she didn't do that again. Another thing he hated was people bringing civvies into gang matters, not that he considered Dedsec a traditional gang, but the interactions his group had with the rival Prime_8 was certainly gang-like in nature. Surprisingly his rival didn't notice him approaching, too engrossed in her conversation with the bartender, both laughing and chatting away. Fuck, what was his name again? It didn't matter right now, all that mattered was getting what he needed from Lenni.

"You sure you want to keep going with this?" Marcus quipped as he approached the duo, the smiles dropping from both of their faces.

Lenni scowled in the direction of the hacker, "I hate you fucks," she grabbed her bartender friend by the arm and started to head back into the bar before turning back around to continue, "And you know why?" She started to prattle off a list of reasons but the hipster wasn't interested in that, he already knew it all. He could see the reader implanted in her arm, and that's all he needed. The plan was simple, shove his phone under her arm so she would instinctively lift it into the air so Wrench could use the high tech reader from across the street and get the code. Super simple, but Marcus wasn't even sure if Wrench was in the agreed-upon spot, let alone ready with the reader. "You assholes take yourselves so fucking seriously."

Ok, time to make his move. He started talking, nothing important, and he openly shoved his phone towards Lenni, who took the bait and thrust her arm up in the air for Wrench to read. Perfect. 

"What kind of noob do you think I am?" Lenni chided, a smirk across her cheeks. "And what kind of shitstain are you for getting caught?" 

The hacker waited a moment before trying once more, "I just thought it was-" and he shoved the phone towards her again eliciting the same response. Arm straight up in the air. 

That had to be enough time for Wrench. As she dropped her arms to the side she turned back to her blond friend. "Jamie, check out this tool. This is meant to be the great Retr0."

Jamie! That was the guy's name. Poor guy just looked uncomfortable at being pulled into this again. She looked at the other man expectantly, waiting for him to at least make a gesture in response. All the man could give her was a roll of the eyes, which was enough for Lenni, who turned back to Marcus to continue her train of insults. He was about to turn and walk away when he noticed it. Jamie had his phone out, and he wasn't holding it as a normal civvy does. He had it by his waist, the screen turned slightly, and he was peaking down like he didn't want this to be noticed. Opening a familiar app on the device, the blonde bartender moved his arm out ever so slightly, right under the reader implanted in Lenni's arm, her being too distracted with insulting the hacker to even notice. It felt like time had stopped, watching this supposed civilian stealing heavily encrypted data like it was nothing. Heavily encrypted data that he desperately needed, and using the tech that only Dedsec have access too. What the fuck was going on here? 

As the data finished downloading Jamie slipped his phone back into his pocket as if nothing ever happened. Glancing up, the bartenders' eyes met his own and went wide, as if he'd seen a ghost. Marcus was obviously not meant to see what he just did, and the kid looked terrified. What was his deal? Is he Dedsec? Or with another group entirely. The two stared at each other in shocked silence as Lenni rambled on, not noticing the tension between the two men. The interaction ended as Lenni grabbed the stunned blond and made one last quip, moving to drag the man by his arm back into the bar with her. 

"Lenni stop, i..." Jamie looked between her and Marcus, same anxious expression on her face, "I might head home."

"Jesus fuck, Jamie!" Lenni snapped, making her target wince, "Fine, get the fuck out of here." She almost threw Jamie's arm back at him, "You're such a goddamn flake."

Jamie gave a half-hearted goodbye to both Marcus and Lenni, turning to leave. Before the hacker could himself leave and interrogate the bartender Lenni stopped him. 

"What are you still doing here, shitbag? Why don't you scurry back to your cave and try to break my lock, loser." She then took a drag of her vape pen and blew the vapour cloud into the hipster's face, then scurrying back into the bar before he could retaliate. God, he hated vapes. 

Now that Lenni is out of his hair he could figure out what the hell was going on with Jamie. He couldn't see him on the street so he decided to head in the direction that the bartender left in, and found him surprisingly quickly. He had only managed to around the corner a few blocks up when Marcus caught up to him. With his hood pulled up and a cigarette in his mouth he moving quickly down the street, just fast enough that Marcus's walking speed couldn't catch up. When Marcus finally reached his target he clamped his hand on the man's shoulder, making Jamie almost jump out of his skin. Whipping around, dropping his cigarette in the process, the poor man looked startled beyond belief, his eyes starring into Marcus's.

"Jamie!" Marcus half-shouted, "What the fuck was that?!"

"Umm, I uh, umm..." He spluttered out, eyes wide but looking down, doing everything he could to avoid Marcus's own eyes. 

"Sorry I startled you but could you PLEASE explain what you just did?"

Marcus barely finished his sentence before Jamie suddenly grabbed him by his jacket and dragged him to a nearby alleyway. Now it was Marcus's turn to be startled, that was the last thing he expected the quiet blonde to do. Now that the two where somewhat alone the hacker noticed the change in the body language of the other man. He went from standing as still as a rock out on the street to pacing back and forth in the alleyway, fingers entwined in his blond hair. Droplets started falling from the sky as Jamie stopped and turned back to Marcus. They remained silent for a moment before Jamie let his hands drop from his hair and let out a sigh.

"Look," He started, "I'm in a position where I'm close to Lenni, and by extension Prime_8." Pausing just to look into the sky, rain falling harder, Jamie once again grabbing Marcus and pulling him under a ledge in an attempt to keep them dry. "And I owed Wrench a huge favour-"

"YOU KNOW WRENCH?!?" Marcus screamed out once again startling the man in front of him, making him flinch.

"Umm, yeah. I know Wrench." The rain was coming down heavier now, almost a storm. "When I got the job at Pierre's he asked if I could keep an eye on Lenni for him. I feed him information and he helps with some of my own projects..." 

"Oh, umm," it dawned on the hipster how close the two where currently, the ledge they were under was barely as wide as a doorway. Jamie was obviously uncomfortable, arms pulled in tight. He couldn't tell if it was because of their proximity or the storm brewing. Maybe both. "So, what sort of projects does he help you with?" Feeling awkward himself, he hoped that maybe small talk would help ease the tension.

"If he doesn't tell you the things he does outside of Dedsec than maybe it isn't my place-" He was cut off by a loud clap of thunder. Yelping loudly he hunched even more into himself, much more scared than Marcus at the sound. 

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD CAN I JUST GO THE FUCK INSIDE?!"

The two men stood in silence, Marcus stunned from the outburst, and Jamie anxious about the storm overhead. 

"Uhh, yeah! Sorry..."

They made their way back to the street, where the blond rushed to the door of the building they were loitering beside and opened the door, gesturing for the hacker to follow. In the few seconds, it took for them to go from the alley and into what Marcus assumed was an apartment block they were both thoroughly drenched. Taking off his favourite blue jacket and attempting to wring the water out of it, he barely heard the other man as he spoke.

"Hey, I'm sorry I just snapped at you," looking up from his soggy jacket to look at Jamie, who was at the least 3 metres away from him drying the water off his glasses. Guess the close quarters of the alley did make him uncomfortable. “You didn't deserve that.”

“It's alright my guy, really.”

Marcus noticed a smile creeping across Jamie’s face, who quickly hid it by taking his glasses off and wiping his face on his sleeves and turning away. Feeling his own face start to blush, he moved slightly closer to the taller man, who continued talking with his face behind his sleeves.

“I swear some days I'm scared of my own damn shadow.” Dropping his arms he gave the hacker a proper smile, which sent a jolt down the hipster's spine. He’d been wanting to for a while, but would now be a weird time to ask if Jamie was single? He did have sort of a crush on the other man, thinking about him at random times since their first meeting, and now seemed like a better time than any. But then again, he also knew he had feelings for a certain anarchist in his life, an anarchist who he just found out was supposedly close to this other man. 

Looking back to the bartender, he noticed something odd. A red splotch right on his face that wasn't there before. Glancing at his sleeves he saw the beige colour of what must have been foundation on the grey fabric.

“What's that on your face?” He’d said it before even thinking. If Jamie had covered it up he must have been self-conscious about the mark. The taller blond looked confused for a second before looking at the makeup stains on his sleeves. His eyes widened in what looked to be horror. Before Marcus could even attempt to apologise Jamie hid the mark on his face behind his hand and turned away.

In a panic drenched voice, the blonde mumbled as he moved towards the stairs in the back of the buildings common area. “Sorry, but you should get going.” And just like that, he disappeared up the stairs. Guilt pooled in the hacker's stomach as he turned towards the exit. Why the fuck did he think it was ok to say that?!? What the fuck was wrong with him? 

Back on the street, the storm raged on stronger than ever. shaking his head he started the short walk back to the hackerspace. Jamie lived surprisingly close so he wasn't out in the storm for too much longer, thank fuck. Knowing his luck as of late he would end up with a bad cold and be out of commission for a week or two. He doesn't get sick often but boy when he did it wasn't pretty. Dripping as he stomped through Gary’s he stopped before the sliding door to the hackerspace, removing his glasses to clean the drops from the lenses. He should probably call Wrench, see if he got the data from Jamie yet. Keying in the code for the door he pulled his phone out as the mechanisms started whirling. It always took a few seconds for the door to open. He hit Wrench's contact. No answer. 

Slipping his phone away as the door finally slid open walked down the stairs of the hackerspace and beelined for the couch. he needed a fucking nap.

********

  
Slamming the door to his shitty apartment he let out a scream, only to be greeted by his neighbour screaming back at him to shut up through the walls. Why is he so stupid? He let his fucking guard down and now look at what happened. Marcus has seen his burn, this huge fucking stain on his face. While he only saw a minuscule part of the whole eyesore he still saw it. He probably thinks he's a freak, which isn't too far off the truth. He could feel that familiar feeling in his limbs and before he could control himself his fist connected with the side of his own face. Fuck it hurt, but he did it again, and again, and again. He had lost count of both the time and amount of punches thrown when he was interrupted by his phone ringing, Marcus's name and face plastered across the screen. No no no he couldn't handle him right now, that's the last thing he needed, so he rejected the call. He felt shitty for doing it but there was no way he could talk to his friend after what happened. He probably just wanted the data he stole so after a few minutes of debating he texted the hipster both the location of the P_8 bunker and the stolen door codes. Marcus replied almost instantly but he couldn't bring himself to even read the message, throwing his phone across the room instead.

Upon throwing the phone he felt another burst of pent up energy rage through his body, along with a strange pain. It wasn't the pain from his now bruising face, but an old pain he hadn't felt in years. It started small but within minutes it became too much to ignore, and he tried everything to drown it out. Fresh cuts up and down his arms didn't help, neither did the cigarette burns or half a bottle of vodka he downed. Deep down he only knew of one thing that would help, but he had been fighting that temptation for years now. The thing that almost ruined his life, and would have killed him if he kept it. But with how overwhelming everything has been, it might be his only escape. he sat crumpled against his front door for another hour before his phone started buzzing from across the room. Probably Marcus, Horatio or Sitara, asking where he is and if he's ok. Whenever he goes offline they panic. Why did they even care about him, he knew how annoying he was to them. Fuck them.

Legs hurting from sitting in an unnatural position for so long he pushed himself off the ground and over to where his phone had landed, luckily on top of a pile of washing. Just as he guessed, Sitara was calling him. Rejecting the call he opened his contacts and hovered over a name, a name belonging to someone he hoped he would never have to see or talk to again, but was the only person who could get him what he craved. 

Ignoring the blood running from his fresh cuts, he took a deep breath and hit the name, holding the phone to his ear. It took a few rings for the person to pick up but when he did Wrench felt his chest tighten.

"Hello?" His voice sounded just as he remembered, deep and smooth.

"Uh, hey Adam. It's me."

The man, Adam, paused, taking a moment to recognise the voice.

"Robert?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooooooop cliffhanger! Sort of. This wasnt as long as I wanted either. but i wanted to post it before I got too run down with uni work.  
> Next chapter might take a while too, just because of uni and stuff.  
> Also my song recommendations! I recommend Sick Bubblegum by Rob Zombie (because it's stuck in my head), Rhyme or Reason by Battle Tapes (because it slaps), and I Am Going To Kill The President Of The United States Of America by LeATHERMOUTH (because the Wrench vibes are strong with it, plus everyone loves Frank Iero).  
> See you all next chapter!!! :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, sorry it took me so long to update this. With everything happening in the world right now it felt weird to be writing, especially as a native person.  
> I'm also not 100% happy with this chapter so I might edit it in the future, or maybe not, ya know? 
> 
> TW for detailed drug use and implied childhood sexual abuse (It's small but better safe than sorry)  
> I'm also gonna get a bit political in the bottom notes so look forward to that.
> 
> Hope y'all like the chapter!

Sitting in a stolen car outside of Adams house, Wrench knew he was making a mistake. Adam had been the worst thing to happen to him, and here he was crawling back. He justified it to himself by claiming he wasn't here for Adam himself, just to get what he wanted and leave, but deep down he knew he was lying to himself. He liked to think that The Wrench, the character he had lived as these last few years, was strong and brave enough to stand up against anyone no matter the situation, but he wasn't going in as Wrench, and since he wasn't going in as Wrench that meant no mask. He couldn't risk Adam knowing who he was now, about Dedsec, his friends, or his new life. But he wasn't going in as Jamie either, so he had no makeup covering the burn above his left eye, only his glasses. Completely exposed.

Double-checking the contents of his backpack, he made sure he didn't forget anything. Money? Check. Knife? Check. Gun? Check. Mask? Looking down lovingly at the spiked mask in the bag he thanked god he brought it. If things went to shit he could put it on if needed. He couldn't put this off any longer. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stood out of the car. 

The building looked dirtier then he remembered, old sheets over windows and trash cans knocked over. It managed to get even worse since he left. Swinging his bag over his shoulder he walked up the steps of his old home, heart pounding in his ears as he rang the bell. He could turn back now if he wanted, get in the car and take off, but once an addict always an addict and his cravings have come back on strong.

After a few seconds with no answer, he almost turned to leave when the heavy brown door flew open, and he was greeted by the face of his abuser. While Wrench was tall, Adam was even taller, towering over the blond by at least 5 inches. His light skin was covered in tattoos, most of which were on display with him not wearing a shirt, only a pair of pyjama pants. his hazel eyes lit up as they met Wrench's blue and a bandaged hand reached up to brush strands of purple hair off his face. 

"Holy shit!" His voice was exactly how Wrench remembered it, deep and smooth with a hint of a Canadian accent. "I thought you were joking when you said you were coming to buy." Standing to the side of the doorframe he gestured for Wrench to enter, "Please, come inside!"

Wrench squeezed past Adam to enter the living room. The walls were covered in both posters and holes and an American flag was hanging behind the tv. Pizza boxes and beer cans littered the stained carpet, and all the furniture was mismatched. Just as he remembered it. A strange wave of nostalgia washed over him, he'd never expected to be back here.

"I kept all your stuff," Adam spoke up, closing the door and putting on the sickly sweet voice he always uses when he wants something, "It's in the garage, most of it at least, you're free to take it."

"I'm just here to buy." He attempted to keep his face as straight as possible but was failing. It was obvious how nervous he was, and he could tell that Adam noticed too. The taller man attempted to close the distance between the two, Wrench instinctively moving back. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Adam stepped even closer, backing Wrench against a wall. He placed a hand on the anarchists waist, which made him want to fight. It made him want to pull out his knife and stab him right in his fucking face then burn this hellhole to the ground, but he couldn't. he thought he'd be stronger but without his mask, he was a coward, and Adam knew how to control him. "Robbie, I missed you." There it was, no one had called him by his 'real' name in years. When he left this place years ago, he abandoned all of his possessions and his identity along with it. He wasn't Robert anymore, he was The Wrench. The Wrench was strong, brave, and fucking insane. he wouldn't let anyone use or abuse him. Not like Robert. 

Adam moved even closer to him, almost pressing their bodies together. He wanted to push him away, tell him to get fucked. "Of course you did, but like I said, I'm just here to buy." 

Letting go of his hip, the purple-haired man let out a sigh, standing back. "Not even an 'I missed you too?', nothing?" Before Wrench could reply Adam let out a huff, gesturing for him to follow. "Fine, come with me. You know where I keep my product." He followed the man through the back of the house and up a staircase. He had a dedicated room just for storing his illicit products upstairs, right next to his bedroom. The second floor was just as Wrench remembered too, nothing had seemed to change. The stairs led into a corridor with doors on either side. The first door on the right was the bedroom, which was left open. He glanced in as they passed, memories flooding back. He could remember being younger, coming home from work and throwing himself down on that exact bed, snuggling into a sleeping Adam and drifting off. He could also remember being the only one who actually had a job. He pushed those memories back down as the two entered the storeroom. It was plain, nothing on the walls and plain carpet. There sat a desk in the middle with shelves behind it containing said product. An old beat-up couch sat next to the door, with 2 equally beat-up dining chairs at the desk. As Adam sat at the side of the desk facing the door he gestured for Wrench to sit at the opposite side. Reluctantly he did so.

"You look good, Robbie," The idiot was obviously ignoring the scar on his face, too cowardly to mention it, which Wrench was grateful for. "You grew out your hair!" 

"Got tired of dyeing it. Now, what do you have and how much?"

"Come on Bumble Bee-"

"Don't fucking call me that." The older man seemed shocked at the words that came out of the anarchists mouth. Before, when Wrench was still in the man's control, he would never have raised his voice, unless he wanted a beating. Even Wrench was shocked at his own tone of voice. Adam gazed his eyes down before standing from his chair.

"Yeah, sorry. Let me show you what I got." Turning to the shelf behind him he browsed the contents before pulling out 2 boxes, one considerably larger than the other. Placing them carefully on the table before sitting back down, he first slid the small one towards the punk. "I'm guessing this is what you're here for." Opening it without hesitation he saw exactly what he wanted, small baggies filled with his drug of choice, white powder heroin. There had to be at least 20 bags of the stuff, but he only needed a few. But before he could ask about prices Adam slid the larger box over. Raising his eyebrow before grabbing the cardboard in his own hands, he lifted the lid and was greeted by souvenirs of his old life. His favourite t-shirt, an old Radiohead vinyl, his Gameboy colour, he stood to get a better look at the contents. Notebooks filled with art and song lyrics, concert tickets stubs, and guitar picks scattered throughout. The thing that really caught his attention was a plushie of Stitch, the cute blue alien from that Disney movie. He pulled the plush out of the box and held it to his chest. The soft toy held a lot of memories, more bad than good, but it was hard to focus on the bad now that the good was flooding back.

"You kept him..."

"I won that the day we went to that carnival, you remember the one." Wrench had been so consumed with the plush in his hands that he hadn't noticed Adam stand up and move beside him. "The carnie running the game insisted I was your brother for some reason, no matter how many times we told him we weren't related."

"Its probably because you do look older than me, I still looked like a kid back then." To be completely fair, he was just a kid. Wrench was only 15 when the two met, and 16 when they started their relationship. Adam was friends with his mom's boyfriend at the time, 11 years his senior. Looking back he couldn't understand how his mother allowed them to spend so much time together, but then again, she didn't know anything romantic, let alone sexual, was happening. Or care. She was probably just happy to have him out of the house. 

He flinched as arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him into an awkward embrace, Adams chest to his back. "But look at you now, Rob. You're not that kid anymore." Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes as lips grazed his neck, stubble tickling the sensitive skin. This was a bad idea, why was he so stupid. It's not like he couldn't have found another dealer, this is California after all. but he was an idiot. Deep down he was just a scared kid returning home after threatening to run away but only getting to the end of the street, and part of him wanted to give in. 

No. His home was with Dedsec and the people who actually love him, not this fucker. Mustering all the might he could he pulled away from Adam, turning to face the man. "No, I'm not that kid anymore." His face was as stoic as he could muster, not wanting Adam to see the emotions his mask usually hid. "Now, please just give me my drugs so I can go home."

Wrench's heart dropped as the man in front of him clenched his fists before slowly relaxing them. Adam was obviously not happy that Wrench was speaking to him in this way but was trying to keep it under control, which was a first. In the past, if Wrench even happened to glance at him wrong it resulted in a punch in the teeth. Moving back to his side of the desk Adam dropped into the rickety chair. "Look, Rob," he once again gestured for the blond to sit but this time Wrench refused, instead of standing with his arms crossed across his chest, "I'm sorry, for everything." There was a tense pause before the purple-haired man continued. "For all the stupid shit I said, shit I did." He was too much of a coward to even meet Wrench's gaze.

The silence between the two was deafening. The older man seemed genuinely remorseful, but Wrench knew better than to trust him. As he opened his mouth to once again ask about prices he was cut off.

"Your face healed well." There it was, Adam finally addressing the elephant in the room, his fucking face. 

"I have permanent vision problems in that eye and I'm going to be disfigured until the day I die." 

Adam winced at the anarchists words, before turning his attention back to the small box on the table. Calloused fingers reached in and pulled out half of the small baggies, easily worth hundreds of dollars and threw down on the desk towards the younger man. "Here, It's yours, no charge. Think it of reparations." 

He counted 11 bags, picking them up and shoving them in his pockets. While Wrench would never forgive Adam for what he did that doesn't mean he wasn't going to accept the drugs. 

"Rob, just promise me that when you run out you'll come to buy from me again." Adam finally looked up into Wrench's pale blue eyes, "I'll make sure you get the good shit, and at a good price too. I do owe it to you." 

They shared a silence once again, Adam sitting in his chair and Wrench gathering his things. Adam could keep most of his old shit, he didn't need it anymore. He did decide to take a few things though, an old photo album and a few beat-up notebooks. Everything else he didn't give a shit about. 

Turning to leave, he was once again interrupted by the other man. "And promise me you'll be careful with the stuff, go somewhere clean and safe to use it."

"As if you care." And with that Wrench made his way back down the stairs and out through the front, getting straight into the driver's seat of the stolen car parked out front. He could see Adam watching him from the front door, leaning his weight against the doorframe and inspecting the vehicle. It was obvious he was trying to memorise the license plate number to try and find the anarchist, but since the car was stolen it was useless. Turning the car on he pulled away from the curb and sped off in the direction of his garage. 

He made it a few blocks before slipping his mask from his backpack and placing it back on his face, finding comfort in the familiar smell of leather. Truth be told the whole ordeal could have gone A LOT worse, but it was over now and he could go indulge himself in peace. The trip back to his home away from home was uneventful, as was the walk from where he dumped the car a few streets over. 

The huge garage door opened with just a tap of a button on his phone and he strolled in, the door closing behind him. He beelined for his workbench, eager to extract a few more Haum 2.0 chips from the neverending supply of toasters he stole, but he barely unscrewed the casing before remembering the substances in his jean pockets. Temptation overwhelmed him as he abandoned the workbench in favour of the beat-up couch in the corner of the space, but not before stopping to rat through some storage boxes and retrieving a small wooden box. After getting what he needed the hacker dropped into the couch and pulled the white substance from his pockets. There had to be enough product here to last him a few months at least, which was a surprisingly calming thought. No need to come crawling back to Adam anytime soon. After a short pause, he went straight to work First tying a small piece of rope tightly around his bicep before pouring a small amount of the powder onto a spoon and mixing in just enough water to make the perfect consistency. When he was happy with the mixture he opened the box by his side and pulled out a fresh hypodermic needle. 

He paused before unsheathing the needle. If his friends found out he was using again they'd be devastated. He was still hard on the heroin when he first Joined Dedsec, all those years ago, and he wouldn't have gotten clean if it wasn't for Sitara, Horatio and Josh. And Marcus? He didn't even know that Wrench was ever on the stuff. Part of him wanted to put the drugs down, to go back to the hackerspace and be around people who cared for him, but that overpowering voice in his head drowned out the thought. Why would they want him there? They all thought he was an asshole and probably only kept him around because they pitied him. No one ever really loved him anyway. 

Fuck it, all or nothing. He lifted his mask and tore open the packaging of the needle with his teeth, spitting the plastic across the room before doing the same with the protective cap. Sucking up the mixture he didn't think twice before plunging the needle into his arm and injecting the substance straight into his bloodstream. 

The effects came on almost instantly, and fuck it felt good. Good was an understatement, it felt like heaven. Like everything that ever caused him pain, both physical and mental, had washed away, leaving pure bliss in its place. He removed the needle from his arm before pulling his mask back over his face and letting his head fall back. Wrench never realised how much he missed this. His breathing slowed, along with his heart rate, and he felt truly calm for the first time in what felt like forever. 

Nothing mattered except how he felt right here, right now. 

********

In the weeks since clearing the P_8 bunker and freeing their systems from Lenni and her goons, everything had seemed to go smoothly, at least for Dedsec. Marcus's personal life on the other hand? That's another story. His mothers' cancer has spread, making her sicker than ever. She's been staying in-patient at the hospital the last few weeks and his mama hasn't left her side the entire time, which means Marcus has been having to take care of his sister at home. That includes cooking, cleaning, groceries, and taking her to and from school. Not to mention all of the meetings with her teachers about the whole situation, which he didn't enjoy. Most of the teachers remembered him from his time at the school and asking way too many questions about his life since graduating. 

Because of his newfound responsibilities at home he had almost no time for Dedsec anymore, which ate him up inside. It felt like forever since he went on an op, let alone worked in the hackerspace, and worse yet, he hadn't even explained to the others why. They might be some of his closest friends and he trusted them with his life, but they were all reluctant to share their personal lives. No one had said anything to him yet, which was good at least, but he was definitely feeling the itch to go back on the field.

But for now, he just felt exhausted, lounging on the living room sofa. He had just spent the last 30 minutes tidying through their home. He hadn't had much sleep the last few days and it was catching up with him. Charlotte was at school and didn't need picking up for at least a few hours so he hoped to have at least a small nap, but as he settled in and let his heavy eyes close he was startled by his phone screaming to life. He almost ignored the call but upon seeing Horatio's name and photo plastered across the screen he caved, it might be important.

"Hey man, what's up?" 

"Marcus! Brother, you sound exhausted." Horatio's voice sounded chipper as usual.

"Yeah, been super busy lately. Personal shit, ya know?

"I get it, man, you busy now though? We could use your help at the hackerspace." 

While he wasn't busy he was fucking tired, but he did owe it to Dedsec.

"Yeah, I can come in, ill be there as soon as possible." A chuckle escaped his lips, "I know yall just getting me in there 'cause you missed me." 

"Damn you're onto us man," Horatio laughed, "See you soon."

As soon as he ended the call he already regretted agreeing, but he made a promise. Dragging himself up he finally changed out of the pyjamas he had been wearing for the last week straight and gathered his things to leave. After getting into his car he didn't even get the change to turn the thing on before his phone rang again, this time from Charlotte's school. Again he wanted to ignore it but knowing it might also be important he begrudgingly accepted it. Placing the phone on speaker he was greeted by the angry voice of the schools principal, a man Marcus was all too familiar with from his own time at the school.

"Mr Halloway we need you to come for a meeting in my office immediately, Ms Charlotte is in some serious trouble." 

Fuck he didn't need this right now but if he didn't go they would probably call their parents and that's a stress they didn't need right now. Dedsec would have to wait. 

Walking through the halls of his old school was strangely surreal. He recognised a few of the students as either Charlotte's friends or younger siblings of his classmates, and quite a few teachers stopped to say hello to him. Some even asked him about how both Rowan and his mother were doing. 

Turning the corner to the small waiting area outside the principals' office he was greeted with the image of not only Charlotte but around 4 other teenage girls all sitting around the room. He seemed to be the first 'parent' to arrive and beelined straight to his sister, claiming the seat next to her. She didn't say anything or even look at him, instead, she leaned her body against his as he placed an arm around her shoulders. Marcus craned his neck to get a look at his sister's face and was shocked by what he saw. 

Her left eye was swollen and beginning to bruise and her lip was split, dried blood down her face. Her hair was dishevelled and her white hoodie was covered in dirt. His face felt warm as anger spread through his body. Charlotte was going through so much at home and now this? He wrapped his other arm around the teen and pulled her into an awkward hug, which she melted into. 

It was another 20 minutes of waiting before all the other parents arrived and the meeting could start. They were all hoarded into the administration staff room, seeing as there was no way they could fit everyone into the principal's office. The principal, Mr Hughes, managed to look even more decrepit than he was the last time the hipster had seen him. He was now fully bald, not balding like when Marcus was a student, and his pale face constantly looked like he just sucked a lemon. Kinda guy where the outside matched the inside. After he greeted Marcus and the other parents he sat them down and jumped straight into the problem. 

"Your children have been fighting on school grounds. Words were exchanged between the young ladies before Miss Summer," He gestured towards a young blonde girl seated between her parents, "Threw the first punch."

Charlotte had spoken about Summer Miller before, claiming her and her family to be racist and homophobic, guess he gets to find out first hand if it's true. Mr Hughes continued to explain that Summer and 3 of the other girls all pilled onto Charlotte, beating her 4 on 1. Like cowards. 

"Umm, I didn't throw the first punch though?" The blonde girl spoke up, glaring daggers at the two siblings.

"Eyewitnesses and the security cameras say differently, Summer." 

Rolling her eyes Summer slumped back down in her chair before her mother, who he named Karen, spoke up. "This is ridiculous, my daughter would never hurt anyone! I know why you're protecting that animal and it sickens me." She pointed straight at Charlotte as she spoke and Marcus didn't like what she was implying, so he decided to speak up.

"Excuse me? Mind telling me why?" 

This woman, with pale skin and brown hair, turned and looked Marcus in the eye before speaking. "He obviously doesn't want to be called racist for holding people like you accountable." 

"People like me?" The hacker responded before being interrupted by the principal demanding everyone to calm down. He explained that everyone involved is being given a 2-week suspension, which was entirely unfair! Charlotte is getting punished for being assaulted. While Summers parents also agreed it was unfair it was for entirely different reasons.

"TWO WEEKS SUSPENSION!?!" She had jumped out of her seat at this point, startling everyone else in the room, "SUMMER DOESNT DESERVE THIS! I DEMAND YOU EXPEL THIS NI-" Before the rest of the slur could leave her lips she was interrupted by the fire suppression system coming to life, showering them all in water. Everyone in the room let out a startled scream except for Marcus, seeing as he was the one who set it off. You'd think the school would have better security but he guessed not. As Mr Hughes heard the group put of the room Marcus gave a sly wink to Charlotte, who quickly caught on and laughed. It was good to see her smiling.

She was meant to finish the school day but Marcus decided it would be best to sign her out early, and as they walked to the car they noted that Summers parents had the same idea. Standing by their car both of her parents glared at the siblings as Summer yelled out to them.

"Bye, hope your mom dies" 

Rage filled Marcus yet again at the words, what a horrible girl. Her parents said nothing at the young girls' comment, still glaring at the two, so Marcus did the only thing he could think of. He hacked the families minivan and sent it backwards full speed into a tree. The Millers watched in horror as the car crumpled against the old tree and the Holloways couldn't help but burst out laughing. Getting in their own car they waved as they pulled out of the parking lot.

"Dude I didn't even know you could do that!" Charlotte laughed, holding up her hand for a high five that Marcus gladly returned.

"ctOS is pretty easily hacked, its kinda crazy."

"The sprinklers were a genius idea Mark!" 

He smiled "I wasn't going to let that crusty old Karen call you that?"

The two went quiet until they stopped at a red light where Charlotte took the opportunity to undo her seatbelt and lean across to hug her older brother.

"Thank's Marcus, I owe you."

He returned her hug before pushing her back into her seat. She was still obviously worked up so he didn't want to leave her home alone, but he couldn't blow off Dedsec after agreeing to come in. After thinking for a minute he made a decision and hoped to god that Sitara would be ok with it.

"Hey, Charlie," He pulled the car over before continuing, "So, I can't leave you at home by yourself right now, because I know how you get when you're worked up-" She tried to say something but he held his finger up to stop her before continuing, "But I have to go to work, so I'm bringing you with me. We can get dry clothes there, you cool with that?"

Her eyes went wide before enthusiastically agreeing. Ever since she found out about him being Dedsec she was always asking him about it. Whether he could hack her grades, her crushes phone, her bullies computer, you name it. So they started the drive to the Hackerspace.

Charlotte was completely in awe of the city, she never got to come over here that often. She was glued to the window right until he pulled up outside Gary's, killing the engine and opening the door. As the two walked to the entrance he confiscated her phone and tablet, just to be safe, and entered the store. The confusion on her face was kind of adorable.

"did you seriously drag me to one of your nerd stores?"

He chuckled as he led the teen through the store, waving to Gary behind the counter and going through the back to the Hackerspace door. The door slid open and he stopped her again after they entered. "Ok, so stay here and come down when I call you, ok?" She looked confused before nodding in agreement as he disappeared down the stairs and was almost instantly pulled into Sitara's arms.

"Marcus! Where have you been?" She clung to him for a moment before letting him go just so he could be pulled into another hug, this time from Horatio. "Eww, why are you wet?"

"Yeah guys, missed you too. I can explain, but first I need to introduce someone..."

"You bring home another stray?" Horatio piped in, "We haven't even house-trained Ray yet." 

That earnt the trio a fuck you from the older man across the hackerspace and a concerned look from Sitara. 

"Look, if it wasn't important I wouldn't have brought her. She's cool, I promise." Before the other hackers could say anything he called Charlotte down the stairs. As the young girl entered the Hackerspace proper her eyes went wide in awe. She moved next to the hacker before he placed his arm around her shoulders. "Everyone, this is Charlotte."

"Aint she a bit young for you kid?" Ray commented as he walked over to the group, beer in hand.

"Ray, man, no. She's my fucking sister."

"Oop, my mistake." 

As Josh wandered over to join the group he decided to explain their current situation. 

"Aight, so, the reason I've been gone is," He paused trying to find the right words, "Our mom, she's sick. Really sick, cancer, and she's currently in the hospital. Our other mom is staying with her so I've been home taking care of this one." He vaguely gestured towards Charlotte before continuing. "I've wanted to come in so badly, it's been killing me to be stuck at home, but I'm sure you guys understand."

Sitara walked forward and pulled both siblings into a hug, holding them tightly. "Oh Marcus, we understand." He appreciated the hug more than he'd like to admit, but she pulled away to inspect the teens face, "That doesn't explain her face, or why you're both wet." She paused before holding out a hand for the young girl, "Also I'm Sitara, should probably introduce myself." The others also decided to introduce themselves before Charlotte spoke up herself.

"A girl at school said the reason our moms sick is because God is punishing her for being gay and when I told her to shut up she hit me." 

"Goddamn kids can be cruel, that doesn't explain why you're both dripping though." 

"Bullies mom was about to call Charlotte a slur so I set the fire sprinklers off."

"Nice, now let's get you into some dry clothes, Girl." Sitara led the young Halloway towards the clothing machine locker area as the elder approached the other Dedsec members.

"Hey, all you guys are here, but wheres Wrench?" 

Horatio placed a hand on the hipster's shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes, "That's what we called you here for."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I originally wrote a super long thing here about Black Lives Matter and everything that's happening in the world, but I deleted it to write this instead.  
> Stand up for and love the BIPOC in your life, let's make the world better and safer for them. 
> 
> Also, Happy pride month!!! Stay safe and love one another!
> 
> Love, your local Aboriginal lesbian <3 <3 [-o-] 
> 
> Black Lives Matter  
> Always was and always will be Aboriginal land!
> 
> Also, no song recommendations this time [But here is by Wrencus playlist on Spotify!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6SMf3RJU4O0W3JnVELHTLU?si=pz_qKtUlSOCFR8S90-GNjg) I update it pretty frequently :D
> 
> [And here is my Tumblr if any of yall are interested!!!](https://miss--moth.tumblr.com/)
> 
> :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hewwo everyone! I'm so sorry this has taken so long to update. Life has been pretty hectic for me. In the past month and a half alone my house has been renovated, I replaced my bed, got a new medical diagnosis, stretched my ears 2 sizes, and stayed awake for a few days while my dad was in the hospital. It's been wild y'all.  
> Please enjoy :)

"Oh fuck!" Marcus slumped down next to his sister on the large couch by the lockers. The team had just filled him in on the situation, for the last few weeks or so Wrench had all but dropped off the face of the Earth. The anarchist was rarely at the hackerspace and when he was he was a completely different person. He was jumpy, well, jumpier than he usually is, and he was quick to anger. But most concerning of all was how the punk would almost fall asleep where he stood. 

"Oh fuck indeed, my friend," Horatio exclaimed as he approaches the now dry siblings. "When neither of you showed up to the space for a while we all assumed that y'all were working together on something."

Sitara, who was kneeling in front of Charlotte and patching up the young girls face, spoke up. "Were really worried about the asshole, last time he was like this-" She stopped herself before standing and pulling Marcus up by his new, dry hoodie and toward the 3D printer. 

"Look, I've got to be completely honest with you," She spoke in a hushed tone, worry spread over her face, "I'm scared." 

"I'm sure he's alright, probably just going through it-"

"No Marcus," They stood in silence for a moment as Sitara struggled to find the right words, "He was like this when he first joined us. Fuck you wouldn't of recognized him back then"

"Yeah?" The hipster was intrigued. He'd never thought of what Wrench would have been like back then. He knew the anarchist had been with Dedsec for a while now, a few years at least, but was he 'Wrench' when he joined? And did he have his mask back then? He was so lost in his thoughts of what 'baby Wrench' would look like that he barely noticed Sitara now dragging him to his designated 'nap couch'.

Sitara sat down first, motioning for Marcus to join her before continuing. "Yeah. He didn't have the trademark mask we all know and love, but he did keep his face covered. At first, it was a motorbike helmet before he started working on his masks. Believe it or not, the one he has now isn't his first."

No matter how hard he tried he couldn't picture the punk with any other face, only his current trademark look. 

"His hair was a different colour each week and he was somehow even thinner than he is now." A smile graced her face before dropping to a more somber expression. "But he was sick and stupid, but he was also just a kid."

The two fell into silence again, the Hackerspace seeming quieter without their resident pervert at his bench. Sitara seemed hesitant to continue, opening her mouth to speak before quickly closing it again. He noticed her hands clenching tight, nails digging deep into her palm, so he reached out and held her hands in his own. The gesture was small but Sitara seemed to appreciate it, holding onto her friends much larger hand. 

"I think he's on drugs again." 

His heart sank. He wouldn't, would he? 

"...Again?"

Sitara turned in her seat to face the hipster, their hands still intertwined. "Again. When he first came to us he was seriously addicted, it was scary. I swear for the first few months he was high every time he was here." 

The two were interrupted by Horatio asking if he and the others could take Charlotte to the cafe around the corner so they could talk more privately, which Marcus agreed to. If he could trust anyone with the safety of his sister it would be them. After bidding the group adieu Sitara continued.

"It was obvious someone was hurting him at home, he would come in covered in bruises but he was usually so drugged out that he wouldn't even notice them. Between them, the track marks, and the cutting he did it's amazing he didn't kill himself, or-" 

"Or was killed by someone else." The hipster finished the artists' sentence for her, getting a nod in response.

"Exactly. Sometimes he wouldn't come in for a few days and we would fear for the worst, but he always came home, but not always in one piece." 

He grimaced at the thought. He wanted to say something but the words just wouldn't come to him. Sitara let out a loud sigh, leaning back into the couch and staring at the ceiling.

"Don't you tell him I'm telling you this, but I feel it's important for you to know." He leaned back himself and placed a protective arm around her shoulders, silently urging her to continue. "A few years ago now, just after he stopped working at-" She paused, "You know what? I'll let him tell you that part, but it was a while ago. He was still what I lovingly call 'Helmet Wrench', so long before the masks came around and he still wore his old motorbike helmet. He had been missing for a week or two, which was normal, you know?"

She looked at Marcus for some sort of acknowledgment, which came in the form of a small nod before continuing. "Well, its only Horatio and I here and it's like 3-4 am. We were about to call it quits for the night when Wrench stumbled down the fucking steps and falls on the couch. Naturally, we thought he was high or something, but when we check on him," Her breath hitched at the memory, leaning in closer to Marcus's side. "Marcus, there was so much blood running from under his mask. I can remember just screaming and freaking the fuck out." 

Marcus watched as tears started falling from his friend's face as he pulled her even closer into a tight hug. He asked her if she wanted to stop, take a break but she shook her head no, wiping her face on her sleeve.

"He was covered in bruises and bleeding everywhere but he wouldn't let us near. It took Horatio threatening to take the fucker to the emergency room for him to let us get close. Ratio eventually got him to take off his helmet but on the condition that only one of us where there, and since he's is better with first aid shit than me I went upstairs to the game shop. When I finally came back downstairs Wrench was completely unconscious and Ratio was, like, hunched over him, wrapping gauze around his head. That's when it dawned on me that Wrench's mask wasn't on and I looked away so quick, I didn't care that he was asleep, that's a boundary he's set and there was no way I was crossing it." 

"So Horatios seen his face then?" 

"Yeah, only one in all of Dedsec who has, as far as I know. I don't know how bad the damage was, but after he finished wrapping Wrench's face Ratio walked to the trash can and puked, like, it was that bad."

Marcus's heart managed to sink even lower in his chest. Tears prickled in his own eyes now as he imagined what his friend had gone through. He wanted to find the lanky motherfucker, hold him close, and never let anyone hurt him again. At the same time, rage bubbled deep in him. Who hurt him? Are they still around? Could Marcus introduce himself with the business end of a shotgun? And Wrench, why the fuck would he go back on drugs, let alone start them in the first place. He didn't know what to do, he was always the guy to help others, to fix their problems, but he didn't know how to fix this. It was the same as his mother's cancer, he couldn't make these problems go away. Before the hipster knew it his tears were flowing freely down his face, the anxiety and stress of the last few weeks finally getting to him. Removing his arm from Sitaras' shoulders he dropped his face into his hands and sobbed. Everything from the last few weeks had finally caught up with him and he just couldn't handle it anymore. 

The walls were closing in and suddenly he couldn't breathe. No matter how much he gasped he just couldn't seem to get any air. Everything around him was too loud, too fast, and he was on the brink of vomiting. Mere seconds away from a full-blown panic attack, he was calmed by his friend pulling him onto her arms and soothing him. He melted into her, head against her shoulder and crying with no abandon. Sitara just held him, rubbing his back and telling him everything would be alright.

It felt like he'd been crying forever when the tears started to slow down, pulling away from Sitara and wiping the leftover tears and snot onto his hoodie sleeve. "Thanks, Sitara..."

"No worries dude, sometimes a good cry helps." 

She was absolutely right, it wasn't healthy to keep emotions bottled up like he was.

"You know, that's the first time I've cried since Mom's diagnosis..." He removed his glasses to try and wipe the dried tears off the lenses before placing them back on his face, "I try to be the strong one, ya know? For Mama and Charlie, but it's so fucking hard."

"I couldn't even imagine what you're going through, but that's what we are here for, Dedsec is a family. When family needs us we help them." 

A smile crept onto his lips as the Hackerspace door slid open, footsteps and laughter echoing down the stairs as the others returned from their cafe trip. Charlotte reached the bottom of the staircase first, bounding in as if she'd known the place for years. The young girl ran straight over to the two adults on the couch and presented them each with a cupcake, pink icing swirled with rainbow sprinkles, which they eagerly accepted. In all the drama and emotions of the night, he hadn't realized just how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten since breakfast and with a mouthful of cupcake, he realized that he'd forgotten to go grocery shopping and had nothing to cook for dinner. he let out an annoyed groan, startling both his sister and friend. 

"What's wrong Mark? The cupcake isn't that bad is it?" Charlotte asked as she pushed her hair away from her face, now curly from their incident with the fire sprinklers. 

"Nah," He attempted to say with his mouth still full of pastry, swallowing before continuing, "Just remembered I had to pick up stuff for dinner, were not having takeout again." 

"So let's just go on the way home."

"I can't be fuuuuuucked." Drawing out the profanity as he threw himself back into the couch cushions he screwed his eyes shut and almost wanted to fall asleep right there, but that changed as a pair of hands slammed down on his shoulders from behind. The noise that escaped his lips was somewhere between a scream and a sob as he spun in his seat to be greeted by a laughing Horatio. 

"Don't worry man, I get it. Shit can be stressful. Tell you what," As Horatio moved to stand beside the couch he and Sitara were planted on Marcus couldn't help but notice the not so subtle red blush creeping up on Charlotte's cheeks. "Let's get you two home and I'll cook dinner for the three of us. How's that sound? I'll even run into the shops for ya" 

Before the hipster could respond his sister had already chimed in to agree, turning to him with a cheesy smile. Damn she was easy to read, one afternoon with Horatio and he already has a raging crush, wouldn't be the first time she's crushed on his friends. Smiling he looked up at his friend, "You heard the woman, were in."

"Hell yeah man, it's gonna be dope. Now gather your shit and let's get going." 

*

The trio decided to go to a grocery store closer to the siblings' home in Oakland, to be specific it was the one around the corner and down the block from their house. Originally Horatio was going to go in by himself but as they pulled into the parking lot they agreed to all go in together and try to have some fun. Horatio pushed the cart while Marcus walked alongside, stacking items on his sister, who was currently sitting crosslegged in the trolley. The three laughed as they debated on what to make for dinner, finally settling on spaghetti when Marcus peeled off from the others to grab a few small things. His first stop was the instant ramen aisle, picking up a packet of his favourite mi goreng before almost walking headfirst into another customer browsing the ramen. Stumbling back, he tried to laugh it off and apologise to the man before the two made eye contact.

"Jamie! Uh..." He hadn't seen the bartender since the incident in the rain a few weeks ago. He still felt awful about upsetting the guy. "How you been man?"

Jamie didn't really respond, just squeaking a small hi and turning to leave, he must have still been upset about last time. Marcus grabbed his arm to stop him, making the blonde jump and wince.

"Fuck, sorry. I just wanted to apologize for the last time we spoke." He took this time to inspect the man in front of him and was shocked by what he saw. He was wearing a hoodie that totally engulfed him, but his face looked sunken and thin. The mark on his face was covered again but he didn't cover the dark circles under his blue eyes, it looked like he hadn't slept in days. To be blunt the guy looked like shit. 

"Thanks... Sorry but I have to go." 

Jamie gave the hacker a weak smile before turning to leave but stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of another man approaching the two.

********

"Who the fuck is this?" Adam hissed as he stood over Wrench, venom in his voice. His blood ran cold and his heart sunk, of all the fucking times. He tried to think of something fast before-

"We work together, I just bumped into him and thought I would say hi. I'm Marcus." 

Watching as Marcus reached a hand out to Adam was nervewracking, both because Adam was volatile and because Marcus obviously picked up a reason to lie about their knowing each other. That was one thing the hipster was always good at. He started to tremble slightly as Adam grasped Marcus's hand.

"Adam."

As soon as the words left the purple-haired man's mouth he had grabbed Wrench by the wrist and started dragging him away from the hipster. He winced once again and he just knew Marcus had picked up on it, but all he could do is mouth a silent sorry to his friend as he was pulled to the front of the store. Adam had a full cart of food when he split off to get some ramen but he had abandoned the cart to pull him out of the store and into his car. Fear gripped at Wrench's heart as he was thrown into the passenger seat, door slammed behind him. By the time Adam made it into the driver's seat and started the engine silent tears were already streaming down the anarchists' face.

Fuck, if he had his mask, if he was himself again he would of beat the shit out of Adam for just existing near him, but look at him now. In the weeks since that first drug deal life had been hell. He had hoped he could handle just one hit, one dose to make everything feel better, but he was stupid. When he injected the drugs into his bloodstream it was like he had never gone clean in the first place. After he had run out of the initial supply instead of finding a new dealer like he told himself he would he went right back to Adam and the cycle of abuse started all over again. He honestly felt just like a kid again, the same kid who was in way over his head and taken advantage of.

They drove silently back to Adam's rundown house on the outskirts of Oakland, neither speaking on the drive, the tension was building between the two. Wrench rubbed at his left wrist, the same that both Adam and Marcus had grabbed, pain radiating up his arm. Without warning Adam grabbed Wrench's other hand and pulled it off his wrist, his eyes not leaving the road.

"Fucking stop that, you're just doing it to make me feel bad." 

"No, no I'm not it just-"

"No, you are." His hands tightened on the wheel, "Look, I'M not going to feel guilty because YOU decided to cut yourself. Grow up, Rob." 

Sinking back into the passenger seat he stared out the window as they drive through the streets, passing a new piece of Dedsec propaganda graffiti plastered on a building. A smile grew on his face as he recognized the design as the one Sitara had been sketching out the last time he was in the Hackerspace. Fuck he missed going into the hackerspace and being with his family, but they would be so disappointed with him, especially Sitara and Horatio. He promised the two after that night he would go clean and stay away from the people hurting him, hell Horatio even helped him escape Adams house by waiting in a car outside and booking it when he jumped in. Then there was Marcus. He would be devastated if he knew he was on drugs again, and if he knew about the abusive situation he was currently in Wrench wasn't sure if he could stop Marcus form killing Adam, and he wasn't sure if he would want to stop him either. The more he thought f his friends the more he thought about if the situation was flipped. If it was one of them in his current situation. They'd be more likely to be open about it, to ask for help. And boy would he help. No one would ever find their abusers if Wrench had a say.

Suddenly it was as if a fire had been lit in his chest. He was The Fucking Wrench! Who was he to let his life be ruined by this piece of shit? Sitting up slightly in his seat he thought of a gameplan. If he jumped out of the car he would have the element of surprise, but Adam could easily catch up with him or run him down. If he waited until they were back at Adams, which was only a few blocks away now, he could gather whatever shit he wanted before leaving, hopefully when the asshole is asleep. He could also steal his current supply, both for his enjoyment and to fuck over his business. But what could he do to REALLY hurt him? 

His thoughts were interrupted as they pulled into the driveway. He would have to play it cool for the time being, he couldn't let Adam know that he was up to something. The two left the car and made their way through the front door, Adam closing it behind them. Before Wrench had the chance to do anything he was dragged towards the couch in the living room, Adam sitting down first and pulling Wrench into his lap, arms wrapped around and lips pressing behind the anarchists' ear. 

"You wanna tell me where you actually know Marcus from?" He cooed, placing another kiss on the sensitive skin. "Because you know I don't believe that he's from work, right." 

Before he could respond Adam grabbed a handful of his hair and stood, pulling Wrench up with him. He had a second to react, he could be like his old self and just take whatever beating was coming, or-  
Wrench's knee connected with Adam's stomach, hard, making the elder lose grasp on his head, dropping him onto the floor. He had hoped this would buy him enough time to at least hit another blow on him but as soon as Wrench hit the floorboards Adam was on top of him, hands wrapped around his thin throat. 

"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!" His hands tightened and Wrench's vision started to blur. His arms flailed out trying to grab something, anything, to defend himself with but there was nothing. Adams grip continued to tighten, lifting Wrench's head up just to slam it back into the floor. He tried to stay conscious for as long as he could but soon enough his eyes rolled into his head and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping to have a short chapter out within the next 2 weeks (Don't hold me to it) but the next main chapter might take a little while yet again. Personal stuff has been keeping me from writing as much as I want (Example: as I upload this my dad is literally having surgery) but don't worry, I won't forget about this fic!  
> Love you all and hope you're staying safe and healthy!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for implied grooming in this.

"Wake up, Robbie." 

He ignored the demand, snuggling deeper into the bed instead. 

"Seriously Rob, wake up!" 

The voice was closer this time yet he still ignored it. It was nice and warm here, there was no way in hell he was getting up. 

"Fucking, get up already!" 

His blanket was violently pulled off, the cold startling the young man and making him jolt up just to crack his crown against the bed above his. 

"Jesus fuck Eddie, I'm awake." He yelled, rubbing his now sore head, reaching for his glasses only to glare at the asshole who stole his blanket. For identical twins, the two teenagers couldn't be more different. Eddie was outgoing, sporty, and he's never been arrested before. Robbie on the other hand, well he was nothing like his brother. He was shy, into computers, and has been in trouble with the pigs on more than one occasion. Usually for graffiti, shoplifting, or trespassing, but he's also been pulled up for fighting. Sometimes the family likes to joke that Eddie was the good twin and he was the evil twin, fuck those jokes got old fast. 

"you should hear Mum and Angie in the kitchen, they're practicing what to say when you don't get your thing today. What was it again?"

He rolled his eyes and stood up from the bed, pushing past his brother and out into the hallway. Eddie was always ripping on him trying to get a reaction, and in turn, getting him in trouble. As he approached the kitchen himself he could indeed hear his mum and sister talking about him, stopping abruptly as he entered the room.

"There's my special boy!" his mother exclaimed as she grabbed the teen and pulled him into her arms, or attempted to at least. He wasn't a little kid anymore, both he and his brother turning 17 a few weeks ago, and they both stood at least a foot taller than the blonde woman. He wasn't used to this level of attention from his mum, ever since dad died all she did was work, watch tv, drink, and fuck whichever guy she was seeing that week. Most of his parenting the last 8 years came from his sister, Angie. She was 12 years older than the twins and upon the news of their father's death, left university to move back home and help raise the two boys. He had a lot of love and respect for her, especially now that he's older.

"I thought I was your special boy?!?" Great, Eddie's back. The fake hurt in his voice annoyed Robbie to no end. Eddie was her 'special boy', clearly the favourite out of the two. Ed could do no wrong in their mother's eyes, and wrong was usually all Robert did. He recalled to when, a few years back, he overheard her debating with Angie on whether to send him to one of those boot camps for 'troubled children' because of how his behaviour "hurt Eddie". Angie only managed to convince her not to by stressing his grades. While Rob was a problem child in many instances his grades never slipped, especially in classes he was passionate about, mainly math, computer studies, and shop. That's the only thing he had over his brother, according to their mother at least.

He blocked out the voices of his family as he tried to go about his morning. He could hear Angie trying to get his attention but he couldn't deal with that right now, he needed to get back to his room and calm down. Grabbing only an energy drink for breakfast he closed the bedroom door behind him and threw himself back on his bed, careful not to hit his head on his Eddies bunk again. The room itself was small, not nearly enough room for 2 people to share, but they each had a little personal space in their bunks. He wanted to go back to sleep but his anxiety wouldn't let him, and Angie would kill him if she found him asleep again. They'd already let him sleep in a little and they'd be pissed if he was late to school, especially today. Glancing out the window he was greeted by a blanket of snow covering the world, which was weird for this time of year. A groan escaped his lips, all he wants is to live in a place where snow wasn't a problem, somewhere warm and sunny. Basically anywhere but Canada. 

It didn't take long for him to get dressed, fashion wasn't as important as warmth. Pulling a thick winter hat over his shaggy blond hair he was almost ready to go. Before he forgot he popped his medications in his mouth, downing them with the last of his energy drink. He hated how he felt if he missed even one dose so he usually made sure to take them as he wakes up, but it's easy to forget. Slinging his backpack over one shoulder and his trumpet case over the other he marched out and met his brother in the kitchen to wait for their lift. Angie drives them to school most mornings on her way to work and today was no different. It didn't take long for her to rush out of her room and herd the boys into the back seat of her shitty van. 

"Both mum and I will be at work by the time you two get home, so I called Adam and he said he'd watch you."

"Fuckin hell Angie we don't need to be watched," Eddie snapped "We're 17 for christ's sake! We aren't children." 

"Listen, Ed, it's so Rob has someone with him when he gets his results this afternoon, you have work after school anyway." 

Eddie rolled his eyes as he slumped back into the seat as Robbie tried to act natural. Adam was friends with one of his mums' old boyfriends, but he's since befriended Angie and in turn the whole Delaney clan, but he was especially close to Rob. He was sure that Angie was starting to get suspicious with how much time he spent with the older man but no one understood him as Adam did.

The rest of the drive went quickly, dropping them off just in time for their first period classes.

********

The final bell had rung for the day and Robbie was the first one out the door, rushing straight for his locker. He needed to be quick, swerving past teachers and other students as he ran through the halls. some of his friends tried to stop him, ask if he was coming along to the local Quinkies like he used to but he turned them down again, they knew he was getting his results that afternoon so they'd understand, at least this time. Grabbing what he needed from his locker be ran once again, straight out the front exit and into Adams waiting car, almost slipping on the snowy ground multiple times.

"There's my busy Bumblebee." Adam greeted, a warm smile on his face as he grabbed Robbie's cold hand in his, the gesture making the younger mans face turn bright red. Robbie was utterly head over heels for the older man, he was all the blonde could think about, and fuck he wanted to tell his friends about him but they had to keep the relationship secret. The age difference was the main reason, even though Adam had assured the teen that he was mature enough for their relationship, more grown-up than others his age, there was still the legal side of things. The second reason was that he wasn't ready to let anyone know he wasn't straight. There wasn't anyone else at school that was out and he certainly didn't want to be the first. He also knew he couldn't handle the mockery his brother would subject him to. It was better for him, and by extension Adam, to keep everything a secret. 

The back door flew open and their hands parted quick as not to alert the swearing teen throwing himself across the entire back seat, yelling at the driver to turn the car's heater on. The older man chuckled before turning the heat up and pulling onto the road. the high he felt from the small sign of affection was wearing off, being quickly replaced with the need to vomit. he'd been hiding his anxiety pretty well so far but the closer to home they got the heavier his heart felt. By the time Adams car pulled into the driveway, Robbie was clinging to his trumpet case with tears in his eyes. Ed left the car first, rushing straight into their single-story home as Adam took the opportunity to plant a kiss on the other twin's cheek.

"Come on Bee, we can't stay in here." 

His legs felt like spaghetti as he walked to the mailbox and grabbed the letters inside, the one at the top of the pile addressed to him. He could have stood there for hours, just staring at the letter, but he knew he had to go inside eventually. Adam waited at the front door for at least 10 minutes before calling him in, entering behind. Usually, when he got home he'd take off his coat and shoes at the door but today he sped right through into the living room, throwing all the other pieces of mail onto the kitchen counter as he passed, only keeping the one for him. 

"Bobby," Eddie called from their shared bedroom, "I have work in like 10 minutes, call me and let me know how everything goes." He hated being called Bobby but he was too preoccupied to care currently.

"You need a lift?" Adam asked before being cut off by a horn from out front.

"Nah, Chesters here now. Good luck Rob." He only stopped to pull his jacket over his work shirt before zooming through the door, leaving the two men alone. 

Sitting on the dead centre of the family sofa, Robbie continued staring at the letter, inspecting every detail of it. Two logos emblazoned the top of the envelope, the first for Stanford University and their Engineering department, the second for Blume. The spot next to him sunk in as an arm lovingly wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him in close.

"So you going to open it or just stare."

"I think I should wait for mum."

"Fuck that Robbie," Adam firmly stated as he pulled the teen in closer, "If she wanted to be here she would be here. Same with the rest of them, if they truly wanted to be they'd be here. If it wasn't for me you'd be alone right now." 

Adam had a point. None of his family was here, but Adam was. Adam always was. His hands shook as he flipped the envelope over, peeling the edge and removing the letter. 

"What happens if I get in and have to leave you." His voice was small, weak. He felt so isolated from everyone, the only person he had was Adam, and he wasn't ready to let him go.

"Well, if you get in I guess ill just have to come to California with you."

His eyes lit up at the statement, "You'd really do that for me? For real?"

"Of course Bumblebee." Adam pulled the teen into his lap and put his lips against his. The older man tasted of stale cigarettes but Robbie loved it. He never understood why he chose him, he must have had tons of people clambering to date him, but he chose Robbie, and he was ecstatic about it. Robbie was the one to break the kiss, moving out of Adams lap and turning his attention back to the letter still in his grasp. Unfolding the bundle of paper he began to read out loud.

"Dear Mr Robert Delaney," He paused for a moment, too scared to go on but pushing himself to keep going, "We have reviewed your application and I am pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to our computer science program!" He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. He wanted to flap his hands and jump up and down on the spot. Instead, he just read on. "We would also like to congratulate you on being awarded a scholarship from the Blume fund!" Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks now, voice shaking. "After careful review of your application and academic achievements, we feel that you are an excellent choice to receive Blume funds for your university expenses inc-including tuition, b-books..." He couldn't read on, tears obscuring his vision. The letter was taken from his hand as Adam pulled him into his lap once again and continued reading to himself.

"Holy shit Rob, the Blume Fund also includes an internship at their San Fransisco offices!" The teen started bawling harder at the news. He was always the problem child, the one who would never amount to anything, and here he was. Full ride scholarship and an internship at the biggest tech company in the world. His arms wrapped around Adam's neck and he cried into his shoulder. He put in so much work, so much effort, and it paid off. 

for the first time in his life, he was excited about his future and he couldn't wait to see where it takes him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit different this time but I wanted to do something with Wrench as a kid and his relationship with Adam back then. If it's not obvious Adam is a creep and a child groomer :< I wanted to write a Wrench backstory that was a little bit different from the general fan canon, also have a silly headcanon that Wrench was forced to play trumpet in the school band by his mum and he is still bitter about it but jokes about joining a ska band one day. 
> 
> Also thank you, everyone, for the nice comments!!! I just found out that when I reply on my phone it won't work for some reason T^T  
> My dad's surgery went really well and he's at home healing. (They removed over a kg of dead tissue from him and I'm still amazed about that.)
> 
> My Wrecus spotify playlist!  I also use it as a shower playlist lmao
> 
> [ My Tumblr! ](%E2%80%9Dmiss--moth.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D)
> 
> ~~(Me? Projecting trauma on fictional characters? No)~~


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long! I'm having some technical problems with my computer right now and I've only just now been able to start writing again :( Because of this, I'm uploading a short chapter because I wrote this back in August before my computer started fucking up, and while I wanted to make this a normal length chapter I figured that since I was gone for so long that I should just upload what little I had finished then and start on the new chapter now! Sorry again everyone :(

He awoke in a plush bed, throat burning and head spinning. He tried to sit up but was stopped by the arm draped across his bare chest. He didn't remember going to bed without a shirt, but then again, he didn't remember going to bed at all. Last thing he could remember was being slammed into the ground by his throat. He turned his attention to the body sprawled next to him, blissfully dreaming away. Moving and wiggling ever so carefully he managed to get out from under Adam's arm and sit on the edge the bed. He couldn't see shit, so he patted the side table to hopefully find his glasses, and while he did indeed find them, they where broken beyond repair. Fuck.

The low light made it hard to see already but without his glasses, it was almost impossible, but he wasn't going to risk turning any lights on. The last thing he needed was to wake the abusive fucker up, so he made his way out of the room by touch alone, which was easier said than done. Stumbling down the hallway he eventually made it to the tiny second-floor bathroom and worked up the nerve to turn on the lights, eyes taking a minute to adjust to the sudden brightness before focusing on the mirror.

He looked like shit. His red bloodshot eyes matching the dried blood coming from his nose and smeared makeup revealing his scar. He didn't remember being hit in the face so it must of happened after he passed out. Moving down from his face his eyes were drawn to the dark bruises starting to form across his throat, wincing when his fingers grazed the sensitive skin. Those would be hard to explain away but he could always just cover them with makeup. His hands reached up and felt the back of his skull, blood dried into the now matted hair, honestly, he was shocked the damage wasn't worse. Last time he had been slammed into the ground like that he had to get his head glued back together by a not too happy Sitara, at least he got revenge on the Umeni guard who did it. 

He wanted revenge this time too.

The drugs weren't worth being treated like this, as property by the paedophile who groomed him. No. He wasn't that scared kid anymore, he is The Motherfucking Wrench, and he was going to make Adam regret messing with him. And he knew exactly how he was going to do it. First things first he needed his mask, which lucky for him was hidden in this very bathroom. Years ago he had broken a hole into the wall behind the mirror as a hiding place for all the shit he didn't want Adam to find and luckily after all these years his little hidey-hole was still a secret. Placed inside was a bottle of vodka from the only God knows when, old candies, a few odds and ends, and a plastic Ziploc bag containing his mask, a lighter, and a gun. He had hidden them there when he first came back to this hellhole. As he pulled his mask from the plastic and carefully strapped it to his face he felt his confidence skyrocket. The mask flickered to life, cycling through his expressions before settling on his default Xs, and not only could he now see, but he finally felt like himself again. Now he had to look for his clothes. 

Being in the bathroom meant he had one of two choices: rummage though dirty clothes or sneak into Adams bedroom and find where he threw the shirt he was wearing, and honestly looking through dirty clothes seemed like the better idea. Scouring the bathroom he discovered one of his old hoodies with a random metal logo plastered on the front. Throwing it on the inspected himself in the mirror. Mask, hoodie, and the sweatpants he 'fell asleep' in. All he needed was his shoes which were on the floor by the front entrance, so he gathered the remaining contents of the ziplock bag, along with the bottle of vodka, and slowly crept out of the bathroom and down the stairs. 

He moved as close to the walls as he could, minimising the noise he made moving through the old house. He couldn't wake the asshole, for his plan to work he had to be asleep. After slipping on his shoes and grabbing his backpack that Adam conveniently left by the couch he was ready.

Step 1: disable the fire alarms. Easy enough with everything connected to the ctOS, one push of a button and he's rendered the alarms useless.

Step 2: fuel. He knew Adam kept some gas cans in the downstairs storage room, plus he had the vodka he hid with his mask. 

Entering the storeroom he was greeted by 3 full gas cans in the corner, half-hidden behind an old lawn mower that hadn't been used in months, judging on the state of the yard. Getting the cans out quietly was easier said than done but soon enough he had all the fuel he needed. Starting in the storeroom he started to slowly walk through the old house leaving a trail of petrol behind him. Winding through the kitchen and into the lounge room he only stopped when the first can be emptied just to retrieve the second and continue his little tour of the house. 

Opening the third he splashed the liquid as he ascended the stairs, the strong smell permeating his mask and making him slightly light-headed. Reaching the top step he decided to take a little detour.

Step 3: Theft. Adam kept all of his good product in the spare room upstairs, so why not raid it while he had the chance. A small chuckle left his lips as he stared at the electronic ctOS enabled lock on the door. Adam must have felt so slick installing that, expecting no one to be able to crack the lock, but with a push of a button the door swung open for the hacker. ctOS was finally living up to its promise of making life easier. Upon entering the room he shot straight towards the shelves on the back wall, knowing exactly which box contained each drug. He wasn't going to take all of the product, but some were free game to him. First was the weed, Adam had huge baggies full of buds ready for sale. Shoving them in his backpack he moved onto the MDMA, just something fun for the next Dedsec party, and finally his vice. He knew that he should have left the heroin behind, but he also knew how painful it was trying to quit cold turkey. He planned to take enough of the shit with him and slowly wean off of the drug, hopefully without his ever knowing he was using again.

With the drugs cleaned out, he decided to have a quick rummage through the rest of the room, eventually stumbling on the boxes of his old treasures. The first time he was back here he claimed a few family photo albums and old notebooks, nothing big, but if he was going to continue with his current plan he might as well save a few more things from destruction. Opening the cardboard top of the box he was immediately greeted by that fucking Stitch plushie. It used to be such a precious thing to him but now he couldn't care less about the thing. It could burn with the rest of this shit. The rest of the box was unremarkable, a few unimportant tidbits and trinkets, the hacker only deciding to keep a few odds and ends, as his old Gameboy. Eventually, he reached the bottom and there alone was a photograph, face down. Pulling the paper out his heart dropped at the image.

It was from around five years ago at a friend's 21st party, and fuck he looked different. There he stood, smiling and happy, surrounded by people he used to love dearly. Looking at their faces filled him with so many emotions. To his right was Tyler, the two had met at college and instantly bonded over being the only Canadians in their shared classes. Next to him was Anna, the two are married now with a kid on the way. Furthest on the left was Finneas, one of the nicest, funniest people the hacker had ever met. He killed himself early last year. On his back sat Misha, Wrench didn't know her all too well but she was nice enough. In the middle of everyone though stood Naomi, the birthday girl herself. While he kept tabs on all his friends from before his disappearance Naomi was the one he checked in on the most, he felt guilty for hurting her as he did. She was the last person to see him before he disappeared and it messed her up quite a bit. The others he checked on from a distance, making sure they weren't struggling or anything, but with Naomi, he took a more hands-on approach. She works at that cafe close to the Golden Gate and sometimes he'd drop in just to check on her. Deep down he knew he should let her know that he's alive and okay but he didn't want to risk hurting her more than he already has. 

He could have stared at the photograph for hours, memories of beach days and movie nights playing through his head when a noise from the other room pulled him back into reality. Adam was calling his name from the bedroom. He had to think fast. Shoving the photograph into his hoodie pocket and slinging his backpack over his shoulder he rushed out of the room. His mind raced as he ran towards the stairs, completely oblivious to the noise he was making. Fuck, he knew he should have barricaded the bedroom door or something. Too late now. 

As his foot touched the hardwood flooring of the ground level the bedroom door slammed open, Adam screaming after him, calling his name. If he was caught now there was no doubt in his mind that Adam would kill him, it was now or never. The few seconds it took for him to move from the bottom of the stairs to the now open door felt like an eternity, getting there just as Adam reached the bottom step. The older man was yelling something but had gone quiet as the anarchist turned to face him, fear in the man's eyes as they settled on his mask. While Adam had no idea of his true identity, until now at least, he had a strong opinion on the Dedsec hacker. Then again, Wrench was essentially a cryptid in the bay area, most people had an opinion on him. Adams personal opinion was that he was a 'psychotic pissbaby' and would get his ass kicked if the two were ever to fight. Judging by the fear in his eyes, which were currently glued to Wrench's electronic ones, he wasn't being entirely truthful with his opinion. 

Adam was yelling but Wrench didn't even care to listen, that was until the older man started to move closer. With one hand he pulled the gun from his pocket, with the other the lighter. Adam was pleading now, some bullshit about how he never meant to hurt him, how he loved him and he could put the gun down and they could go on as nothing happened, but it was all bullshit. Everything out of Adams's mouth was bullshit.

It was now or never. A smile crept on his face as he sparked the lighter to life and threw it onto the gasoline covered rug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope yall liked it! Again im sorry for taking so long, my computer has been fucked :(  
> Also tho, WRENCH IN LEGION?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Excited for my boy! Plus it's out in a week today and I'm fucking PUMPED!!!  
> Next chapter shouldn't take anywhere near as long as this did, but thank you to everyone who commented while I was gone!!! Love you all!!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Before the chapter I want to say thank you to everyone who commented! For some reason when I reply on my phone it doesn't post so here I am thinking I've been replying to comments but none of them actually posted D: 
> 
> Im so sorry if I didn't reply to your comment I'm going to make sure to reply on pc from now on. Hope yall enjoy!!!

The two hackers had waited until the youngest Halloway sibling had gone to bed to really get the night going, both claiming an end of the couch and drinking half a dozen beers each. They had become totally engrossed in a cheesy romance flick and now were discussing their worst ex's.

"Oh Chrissy for sure," Marcus could help but grimace as he said her name, "She was the worst by far." 

"How bad was she?"

"Fucking awful man, she went through my phone and deleted every contact with a female name, she lied about being on birth control, she-"

He was interrupted by his message tone going off, them both eyeing the face down phone on the table.

"That's like the fifteenth time your phones gone off in the last 30 minutes, you should probably check it, could be important." 

Before Marcus could blurt out some excuse for not answering his phone Horatio already had the device in his hand, scrolling through the messages with a devious smile on his face. 

"Who's Rowan and why does she think we're fucking?" 

Snatching the phone back he eyed the messages, a wave of embarrassment washing over him. She had seen the three of them arrive at his house and has lost her damn mind over it, begging to know more about "Mr Handsome", if they were fucking, and if they could double date.

"Just- ignore her," He wanted to end the conversation there but judging by the look on Ratio's face that wasn't going to happen, "Fine, she's been my best friend since elementary school and she's been on my back about dating since my last relationship ended."

"On your back about dating? She into you or something?"

"Nah man, she's a lesbian, it's just that she's been seeing this new girl and won't let me meet her until we can double date. Apparently, this girl thinks the whole idea is hilarious and is going along with it."

Horatio couldn't stop himself from laughing, doubling over himself, "Man that's some cheesy romantic comedy shit, I fucking love it!" The laughter soon became contagious as the two chuckled amongst each other.

"At this point I'm honestly debating whether or not to complete the romantic comedy thing and bring along a fake date, ya know?"

"Yo man I'm down to fake date if it means I get to be part of something so stupid." 

"Hell yeah man, I'm always up for some fanfiction-esque shenanigans."

"Real talk," The dreadlocked man paused to take a swig out of his bottle, "isn't you and Wrench's entire relationship just fanfiction-esque shenanigans?"

Marcus's agreeing laugh soon turned into a concerned chuckle at the thought of his friend. He hadn't seen Wrench in what felt like an eternity, plus his phone calls and texts went mostly unanswered. "I'm worried about him." 

"Me too bro, I haven't seen him like this in a long time, not since," He winced at the memories of that night, "Look, I know Sitara told you about that night, the one with..." He vaguely gestured towards his face, getting a knowing nod in return, "Well, fuck man that night was fucked."

Reaching down Marcus pulled another beer out of the 12 pack, handing the still cold drink to Horatio and silently urging him to continue. 

"I've never really spoken about that night with anyone, except for the pyromaniac himself, and that was only when I made him show me how his wound was healing. Marcus, I still don't know exactly what happened that night but I'll never forget what I saw. When... when Sitara left the hackerspace and I managed to get that helmet off his head it was like half of his face was just gone."

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" 

"I don't know man, like, gone. He was burnt, which isn't an odd thing really, for him at least, but this was different. His nose was broken, and he was covered in bruises, it was obvious that someone wanted him dead, but the most visceral, disgusting thing was his face, fuck." 

The conversation fell quiet again before Ratio forced himself to continue. 

"Have you ever seen third-degree burns before?" 

The hipster replied with a shake of his head, hed never even seen photos of them, only vague descriptions.

"Well, his face was fucked. The burn itself was almost pure white, with a bit of black near the edges. Skin and flesh peeling off, it took all the power in me to not vomit all over the fucker. But the thing is," Sitting up straight from his hunched position he carefully placed his beer on the crowded coffee table, staring Marcus in his deep brown eyes, "There was no damage to his helmet, none at all. It was exactly as it always was. He was also dressed as if he was getting ready to sleep, no spikes, no Dedsec propaganda, nothing. He was barefoot for fucks sake."

"What are you getting at?"

"What hurt him wasn't some operation gone wrong, someone in his personal life had done that to him, someone who knew him not as Wrench, but as who he really was back then." 

From what Ratio said it kinda made sense. How else could he get injuries like that without any damage to his helmet? He felt that overprotective feeling rising in his chest again, whoever fucking hurt his friend would pay.

"But the thing that stuck with me the most since was his eyes. He has the most haunting yet beautiful eyes I have ever seen. Bright blue. When I got the helmet off him he was laying on the couch with his head in my lap and, fuck, he looked up at me and he looked so sad, sad and fucking scared. It was like everything that made Wrench, well, Wrench was gone." 

He could feel his heartbreaking at the thought of his friend suffering, the pain he must have felt in that moment was unimaginable, but then it hit him. Blue eyes, Wrench has blue eyes. It felt almost wrong to know that about the anarchist, as far as he was concerned Wrench had LED eyes and a little camera between. Whatever face was under that mask didn't exist if Wrench didn't want it to. He was so engrossed in the thought of what lied underneath that he almost missed Horatio speaking again.

"After that day Sitara, Josh, and I basically adopted the asshole. Before that incident, he was hard on drugs, real dope-head, ya know? But with a bit of love and support, he eventually got clean. He also stopped with the self-harm and all that, and he gained enough weight to look only slightly underweight, so he was recovering. I don't know whats happened recently but he's gone off the deep end, and to be honest I'm fucking scared. I don't want to lose my friend."

Silence once again loomed over the two, nothing but the sound of the tv mixed with the sound of sirens in the distance. He had to do something to help his friend, no matter what. Marcus wanted nothing more than to hold the man in his arms, cradle him tight and tell him everything would be alright. That he was safe and loved. and the truth is that Marcus deeply loved his friend, infatuated even. No one had ever made him feel the way Wrench had and he couldn't help but feel overprotective of the guy. His feelings for the anarchist had been something he'd been trying to avoid thinking about but times like this it was all that was on his mind. He loved Wrench and he needed to be able to keep him safe. 

The two hackers quietly sat together for quite a while longer after that, downing their beers and wallowing in the melancholy of the room, when they where rudely interrupted.

"Hey, guys!" Charlotte bounded out of her bedroom in her blue Pooh Bear pyjamas and mismatched socks. "I just got a call from Amanda, a house near her brothers' place is burning down!"

********

Speeding away, he had never felt more alive. He wanted to watch the house burn, its owner along with it, but he couldn't stay long. The last thing he needed was to be caught, so he fled. Where to he didn't know. He could to the Hackerspace, but there was no way in hell he could handle being questioned over his injuries right now, so that also ruled out his garage. 'Jamie's' apartment it was then. 

Turning on the stereo the speakers started to blare out some nu-metal crap and he visibly cringed. While stealing Adams car, his 'baby', was the cherry on top of his sundae, that didn't mean he had to put up with the assholes shitty music taste. He ultimately decided to turn the stereo off after shuffling through the stations and being unhappy with everything on. He wasn't too far from his flat now so he didn't care all too much. 

Abandoning the car in a shady back alley, keys still inside, of course, he started the walk back home. The sun was starting to rise over the city painting it in a beautiful range of pinks and yellows. Wrench always loved early mornings, before the world awoke. Everything was always so still, so quiet, especially compared to the rest of the day. San Francisco was a busy city and there wasn't a lot of quiet, tranquil places to find refuge, so early mornings would have to be it for now. Strolling down the barren streets made him feel oddly alive. He was finally free, he got his revenge and now Adam was gone. Nothing but ash and scorched bones. People might try to put 2 and 2 together, try to pin the crime on him, but 'Robert' had been on the missing persons' list for a while now, so it was unlikely. Most people assumed he was dead, and that was the way he liked it. 

He was close to home now, so he ducked into an alley to swiftly remove his mask and place it securely into his backpack. He had already tossed up which would be the better way to enter, no mask walk through the door or with mask and climbing up the fire escape, but he was tired and still nursing his wounds. The front door was the best option, it just meant he had to keep his face low and pray that no one tried to talk to him. He was out with his scar completely exposed after all.

Pushing through the building's entrance and climbing the stairs, he reached his front door. The adrenalin must have been wearing off as his hands shook as he attempted to unlock the door, taking multiple tries to slide the key into the lock. The apartment felt welcoming, even if it was still in disarray from his last episode here. But the bed was clear and that's all that mattered at the moment. The rest could wait until tomorrow. His body ached as he fell onto the mattress, arms reaching out for the many pillows and blankets. Kicking off his shoes before he got too comfortable, he couldn't be bothered undressing further. 

Before he knew it he started to drift to sleep, and for the first time in a long time, he felt completely safe in letting the blackness take over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry for being gone for so long again! No real excuse this time other than ADHD and Watch Dogs Legion. Who else has been playing it tho?!? I'm having the time of my life when the game isn't crashing on me lmao.  
> Seriously tho if any of yall are gonna be playing Legion online on Xbox when it launches you should add me! My ID is punkrockcryptid and I'm always looking for new people to play with!
> 
> I hope to get the next chapter out before Cyberpunk 2077 comes out but don't get your hopes up lmao.
> 
> Also for my song recommendation, this chapter I'm recommending Ivankkka is a Nazi by The Network (which is totally not Green Day, and is not associated with Green Day in any way) Very political but like The Network has always slapped.  
> I'm also recommending the song Creature by BONES UK because when I heard it for the first time playing Legion i lost my goddamn mind I love BONES UK I was so stupid excited lmao.
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr Miss--moth Im gonna be changing my username on here to be the same as my tumblr so heads up for that.  
> My Wrencus playlist.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I've been gone for so long! Real-life got in the way but I'll explain more at the end. Hope youse enjoy!!!

His sleep was both well needed and well deserved. It had been a long time since he drifted off so peacefully, felt so safe in his slumber. Now that Adam is dead he did not need to be afraid anymore, well no personal reason. Of course, he was still scared of Blume and all the shit that Dusan was pulling, along with the fucking government, but that personal fear was gone. He stayed there in bed for longer then he'd admit to, completely content basking in the warmth of the afternoon sun rays shining through his window, but soon enough his injuries from the night before started to catch up with him. Pushing himself off the mattress his bones felt like they were going to snap. His muscles ached and his head throbbed. 

Dragging himself into the bathroom was easier said than done, his body complaining with every step he took. Finally stripping from the sweaty and slightly burnt clothes from last night he inspected himself in the mirror. His face was still somewhat bloody but most of it had rubbed off on the bedsheets, and the bruises on his throat looked more gnarly than he remembered. Stepping into the shower and letting the hot water wash over him he felt his muscles loosen up. Last night had taken a much bigger toll on him than he realised. While, for the first time in a long time, he was well-rested the anarchist still felt so fucking tired. Resting his head against the tiles he yelped in pain, jumping back as the hot water sprayed over the wound on the back of his skull. The hacker had completely forgotten about the injury, wincing as his fingers grazed the sensitive spot. It needed to be cleaned and checked out, but seeing as it was on the back of his skull it would be difficult for him to do so himself. Last time he had a similar injury Sitara knew exactly what to do to patch it up but he didn't know if he could face her right now, let alone any of the others. Since being back in the throes of addiction he'd been neglecting his Dedsec family and fuck did he feel guilty about it, but the last thing he needed was for them to see him like this again.

But he knew he needed to head into HQ and let the others know he was alive, plus it would allow him to fix the glasses Adam had so kindly snapped the night before.

Stepping out of the shower and getting dressed he once again donned an oversized hoodie, this time to cover up both older self-harm injuries but also the track marks that littered his arms. Scooping up his belongings he gazed over his apartment one last time. He really needed to clean the shithole. Strapping his mask over his face he started making his journey to the Hackerspace.

Climbing down the fire escape took longer than usual seeing as his muscles protested against each ladder he went down. Finally reaching the ground he pulled his hood up and continued to his destination. 

The time he lost on the fire escape he more than made up for with his walking speed. He wanted to limit his time out in public to as little as possible just in case someone could ID him at the fire last night. His mask did stand out a lot, but with fewer sightings of the local legend came less police and media attention. He learnt that first hand when an arson he didn't even commit was pinned on him because he was seen in the area, which he was slightly offended at. The real arsonist did such a sloppy job, Wrench was way more professional than that.

Throwing a half-hearted wave towards Gary as he entered the games shop he sped for the back, desperately wanting to be out of the public view. As the sliding door slid shut behind him, locking with a click, he could feel his muscles relax, but his mind refused to follow suit.

Descending down the stairs he couldn't hear the usual sounds of his friends working, so he'd hoped he was the only one there, but he knew better than to believe that.

*******

Honestly, the hacker didn't even want to come into the hackerspace today, and neither did his friend. They had both drunk a little bit too much last night and were regretting it this morning but they both had jobs to do, hangover or no hangover. Doesn't mean they would enjoy it. 

The hackerspace was surprisingly dead this morning, Ray was off doing whatever it was Ray did, and Sitara had to literally drag Josh to his dentist appointment. While the man usually had nerves of steel, anything medical and he was a mess. With the others gone that left just Horatio, Charlotte, and Marcus alone in the space. Horatio was seated at his desk, his head against the keyboard and muttering to himself. Charlotte was sprawled on the couch near the lockers, headphones on and watching Netflix. Her face was still slightly swollen after her beating yesterday but she spent quite some time meticulously covering her black eye with makeup before they left. This left Marcus, who was set up on the table in the middle of the room. He wanted to jump into some code that desperately needed some attention but he just couldn't bring himself to. Not only because of his splitting hangover, but because of the worry in his chest. While he was still making himself sick over his worry not only for his mom, not just for Wrench, but for Jamie too. The bartender probably hated his guts by now, every time they interacted something bad seemed to happen to the man, but that doesn't mean he couldn't worry. Who the fuck was that guy who grabbed him. A friend? Brother? Partner? Whoever he was his presence seemed to scare the blond, and that scared Marcus too. 

The hacker seriously needed to get over his hero complex, he knew deep down that he couldn't possibly help everyone, but fuck he wanted to. He needed to focus on the people in his life who needed him most, namely his mom. Her condition was still looking grim and he knew that was where he should be putting all of his attention, but what about Wrench? The anarchist was his best friend and he sounded as if he was suffering. What kind of friend would he be if he didn't help him out? But he couldn't just leave Jamie to be hurt by that fucker from the grocery store. Plus all of Dedsec always needed him for some reason or another. 

He was truly lost in his mind when he was interrupted by the sound of the sliding door opening. He hoped it was Sitara and Josh back from the dentist, the artist promised to bring coffee back, but the footsteps were too heavy to be her or the other hacker. They were also too light to be Ray, the man had a real lead-foot when coming down those steps, and he would already be loudly complaining about there being stairs in the first place had it been him. That just left-

"Wrench!" He yelled out, startling everyone else in the room. Marcus couldn't help but jump up and pull his friend into a tight hug, the other man tensing before melting into it.  
"Fuck man, where the hell have you been?"

"Ah you know, just busy." He answered with the same attitude he always had but something was definitely wrong. Standing back to inspect his friend the first thing he saw was the large, dark bruising around his throat. It was obvious that Wrench had tried to hide the marks but they were still very visible. They were obviously done by hand too, the bruises showed exactly where the attacker dug their thumbs into his windpipe. Just as the other two bodies in the hackerspace made it over to the two men he couldn't help himself from just blurting out.

"Wrench what the fuck happened to your neck?" 

The anarchist in question visibly tensed at the question, mask showing the O O expression, before turning around quickly and rushing to his bench and quickly shouting his reply.

"Oh I'm fine its nothing but I have work to do." 

Glancing down at his sister, who stood beside him with her eyes as wide as dinner plates and glued on the spiked hacker, he directed her back to the couch before once again approaching Wrench, with Horatio in tow. Wrench had already made himself busy, grabbing one of his many toasters and attempting to pry the casing off, but before he could even open his mouth to say more to his friend, Horatio grabbed him on the shoulder and instructed him to take Charlotte out of the hackerspace, that he needed to talk to Wrench privately.

He wanted to say no, all he wanted to do was make sure Wrench was alright, to hug him again and find out what happened to his neck. Find out who hurt him. But the look in Horatios eyes reluctantly made him agree. After saying a quick "It was good to see you" to the spikey hacker he grabbed Charlotte by her hand and led the teen out of the hackerspace, giving the other men all the privacy they needed. Charlotte was stiff as a board as he led her to the teams' favourite cafe just around the corner, only speaking as they sat at a table in the back corner.

"Marcus was... was that..."

"The Wrench? Yeah, he's like-"

"Marcussss!" She tried to whisper but it came out as more of a hiss, "Do you know how dangerous that dude is? I've heard that he once-"

"Charlie," it was Marcus's turn to interrupt, "Wrench is absolutely safe and fine."

"I heard that he once set fire to a cop car and then drove it onto a crowd of school kids!"

Marcus just had to laugh at that one, there were a lot of ridiculous rumours about the anarchist but that one was new.

"Nah, that one ain't true, but he did once make me steal a $36,000 robot for him, that was a fun op actually."

The look on his sisters face almost made him laugh again, so he continued, "Yeah, we named him Wrench Jr, he's like our son."

"You and The Wrench have a son?"

This time he couldn't help but laugh again, "Nah, he's more like Dedsecs son, we all worked together on him. If you're good I might even ask Wrench if I can take you to the garage to meet him."

"Is he safe?"

"The robot? Of course he's safe."

"Not the robot..." The teenager slumped down in her seat, a look of fear dwelling in her eyes when they were interrupted by the server coming to take their order. He wanted nothing more at that moment than a coffee and knew that a large wouldn't be enough, so he ordered 2 for himself, while Charlotte got a milkshake. He also added 2 pieces of carrot cake to the order, much to the delight of his sister. As soon as the server had left he jumped straight back to where they where.

"Did you mean Wrench? If he's safe?"

All she could do was nod, the happiness from the promise of cake washing off her face in an instant. While a lot of the rumours about the anarchist were humourous and stupid, somewhere genuinely scary. The most persistent one is that he would kill anyone if they so much as look at him wrong, which Marcus knew was untrue, but that didn't mean people weren't scared of him. At this point Wrench was as feared as the fucking Shuffler, only difference is that Wrench was without a doubt real. 

"Half the shit you hear about Wrench isn't even remotely true, and the other half is seriously exaggerated. Id trusts him with my life in a heartbeat, and I already have. Dudes saved my ass so many times now I couldn't count them all." She still didn't look too convinced, but their order arrived so they dug in. The coffee was amazing but the carrot cake wasn't as good as their Mamas, which Charlotte said as soon as the thought popped into his head. That didn't mean the cake was bad at all, it just wasn't Mamas. The two sat and chatted for a while longer, finishing their treats and as they got up to leave Marcus spoke up again.

"You still seem kinda anxious, let me tell you now if I didn't think Wrench was safe I would never have brought you to the hackerspace in the first place." She seemed happy with that at least, looking visibly more relaxed than earlier. He hadn't heard from either of the other hackers yet, so instead of heading back to the hackerspace and interrupting whatever they were doing, he decided to take Charlotte to some of the shops in town. She was still pretty down after everything that happened yesterday, along with all the shit with their moms' illness, so he figured a little retail therapy would do the kid good. 

********

When Marcus pulled him into that hug it felt like all of the tension had left his body. He wanted to stay in that moment for as long as possible, but when his favourite hipster pulled away and his eyes moved to his throat he knew that moment of peace was over. 

"Wrench what the fuck happened to your neck?" 

He was so delighted to see his friend that he almost forgot about the nasty bruise around his pale throat. The last thing he wanted was to be grilled over it, especially as he just noticed the stranger standing beside Marcus, gawking at him like he was some sideshow attraction. He turned quickly, rushing to his bench and shouting out in one breath.

"Oh I'm fine its nothing but I have work to do." 

Who was that girl? She looked too young to be a recruit, no one under the age of 18 was welcome in Dedsec. It didn't matter who she was, Wrench didn't know her and didn't want her staring at him. He grabbed something at random from his bench and started tinkering, not paying too much attention, that was until Horatio directed Marcus and the random teenager to leave. That left just the two of them in the hackerspace and the moment the door slid shut at the top of the stairs Ratio grabbed his spikey shoulder and spun him around.

"What the fuck dude! We are all worried sick about you! Tell me what the fuck is going on. Right. Now." Normally he would argue, scream that he didn't need to explain shit, but he couldn't bring himself to speak to Horatio like that. Instead, he let the other hacker lead him to the couch, sitting down and watching as grabbed some energy drinks from the small fridge in the corner.

"Too early for booze, now talk to me, man." Grabbing the icy can from his friend he wanted to make a joke, say that it's never too early for beer, but he knew that Horatio wasn't in a joking mood. Instead, he sat silent, trying to think of how to describe what's been happening the last few weeks in such a way that Ratio wouldn't be too pissed, but he took too long to answer.

"Look, tell me later, let me look at you." Hands gently reached for his head, tilting his head up and his hood down, inspecting the bruise around his neck. He hated being touched, he wanted to scream and slap the hands away, but he trusted Horatio. He let the hands guide his head to the side, a gasp escaping from their owner at the sight of the injury on the back of his skull. Admittedly Wrench had already forgotten about it again, but by the other hackers' reaction he could tell it was gnarly. 

"Who did this to you?" 

He didn't want to answer, but when Horatio asked again, more forcefully this time, he knew he had to.

"No one important. They're dead now anyway." He spoke the words in such a way that Horatio knew not to ask more about the attacker. Instead, he gingerly inspected the wound before getting up to get his first aid kit. Not many knew this about Horatio but he's gone through a bunch of medical training. Wrench didn't know the specifics but the man knew his shit. While the other man set about patching up the blondes head he asked the usual questions, did he have a headache, blurred vision, vomiting, etc. and he answered truthfully. They sat in silence for the next few minutes, Wrench wincing once Horatio started applying a disinfectant. Soon enough the back of his head was covered, so the dreadlocked man moved onto inspecting the other bruises before speaking up.

"Do you have any injuries on your face? It's perfectly okay if you don't want me looking at them, but just after last time and all..."

Every muscle in Wrench's body tensed. The last thing he wanted was to show his face, but he knew Horatio only wanted to help. He also knew that the man had already seen his face before, and in much worse condition, but the fear was still there.

"I don't know, i..." Wrench knew his nose was likely broken, and he had both bruises and swelling. It was probably the smart thing to have someone check him over, and after a few more seconds of silence, he finally answered.

"Bring me a beer and ill let you check."

As Ratio stood to grab the requested drink he already felt regret in agreeing. He could probably stand up and run, make it out of the space before the other, grab a car and book it, but he wasn't stupid. Instead, he sat there, picking at the dried, calloused skin on his hands. The couch once again sagged beside him as the brown bottle was offered to him. Taking the cold drink, he used the wooden armrest of the couch to remove the top before slowly reaching for the clasps of his mask. Horatio didn't rush him, just sitting patiently while looking around the room, at anything other than the hacker. Eventually, the clasps where undone and he removed the mask, only to instantly turn away and chuck the entire beer in one go, throwing the bottle towards the trash can across the room when he finished. Thankful his friend wasn't rushing him he again turned, this time toward the dreadlocked man, who was obviously trying to keep his cool. His hands once again reached for Wrench, slow and as non-threatening as possible. The hands ghosted over his nose, then his cheek and eventually his jaw, inspecting every inch. The broken nose theory was confirmed, along with some bruises and swelling he mustn't have been able to see without his glasses. Soon enough the fingers grazed against his scar, sending a bolt of fear down his spine. For the first time since removing the mask he looked up at his friend, their eyes meeting, and him instantly recognising the pity in his friends' brown eyes. That was about all he could handle and he jumped back, shoving the mask back onto his face and ignoring the pain from his nose.

"I'm sorry, but i just, i can't, i-"

"Yo yo it's okay, I'm done." 

Wrench let out a deep breath and let himself calm down. Horatio listed off how to treat his facial injuries and what to look out for, but truth be told he wasn't listening. All he wanted was to go to his garage and smash a few things. Maybe get drunk.

Absolutely get drunk. 

Soon enough they fell into silence again, sitting together quietly until Horatio once again asked what's been happening. This time Wrench answered. He didn't tell him everything, he left out the stuff about his little Prime_8 scheme, but he was truthful about the drugs and the abuse, about Adam. It honestly felt good to get it off his chest and Ratio let him talk for as long as he needed. The two men even came up with a plan to get the anarchist clean. It was essentially the same plan they used years before, the first time Wrench needed help, but if it worked then it would hopefully work now. 

He didn't know why he trusted Horatio as much as he did. He almost saw the other hacker as the brother he always wished he had, the brother he wished Eddie was. Supportive, helpful, and most importantly trustworthy.

After a few hours, the hackerspace started to fill with life again. Sitara almost tackled him when she came back before scolding him for being missing for so long and not letting her know he was alive. Josh and he shared a few pleasantries and when Marcus came back he introduced the random kid he had with him. As soon as he said that they are siblings it instantly made sense, they looked just like each other. She stared at him the entire conversation but seemed to loosen up when he started debating Retr0 over which Fallout protagonist was objectively the strongest. She seemed shocked that the anarchist was just as big a nerd as her brother after believing all those 'baby kicking monster' rumours. People usually did only see him as some violent freak and not as the somewhat normal dude he actually was. He was filled in on what was happening with everyone, about the current ops, Prime_8 and Blume bullshit, Sitara's new girlfriend, and about Marcus's mom, and got to work on a few important projects with the gang.

Eventually, Horatio was the first to leave, mentioning something about the Oakland Supreme Court, and Josh left not soon after. Sitara got a call from Ray and had to meet him only god knows where, then a bit later Marcus wanted to get his sister home and into bed. The hipster offered to let Wrench tag along, but he was fine just staying at the hackerspace. Truth is he just wanted to be alone for a while. The last few days or so had been pretty intense and he still needed to fix his glasses, so he was perfectly happy to be left to his own devices. 

********

The next day the hackerspace was alive as usual, with everyone working on their own things privately. That was until Sitara noticed someone was missing.

"Hey, has anyone heard from Horatio today?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaand I'm back! I'm so so so sorry this took so long to update. December and January are super busy for me every year, with Christmas and birthdays and my siblings going back to school. Fun fact: I have 7 siblings and three of them are under 12, and since I'm an adult I have to help get them back to school ready and with Christmas and all that. It's stressful as hell :(
> 
> I've been working on and off on this for the last few months and I'm afraid uploads might be just as slow in the future. I might be starting fulltime work and study in a fortnight and that's gonna take soooo much of my time. I desperately hope I get the offer tho, wish me luck!!!
> 
> So yeah, [follow me on Tumblr!](https://miss--moth.tumblr.com/) I'm always looking for people to talk Watch Dogs with!
> 
> I have NOT forgotten this fic so don't worry! Just been super busy lmao
> 
> Also, speaking of Wrench and his $36,000 robot [Check out my masterpiece!](https://miss--moth.tumblr.com/post/620870862817705984/me-my-boyfriend-and-his-36000-robot-he-made-me)
> 
> Hope yall enjoy and are staying safe! :D


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